Hannah

Tomorrow I’ll be the pall bearer for Hannah Chambers. The reason I am the pall bearer is that Hannah died when she was four months old and only one is needed. Her mom and dad are two of my best friends on this planet. Nate and Angie called me back in June with news that their baby had been born, but there was a problem. She was born with an extra chromosome. Most children with this condition never make it to term but Hannah did. She showed her strength by making it here with us. Its not surprising, her dad is a very strong man. Not only that he’s a good man too. Her mom is probably the sweetest person I’ve met. Hannah from the beginning had difficulty. Nate and Angie knew that this day was coming. We all prayed for Hannah. She lived a life much longer than anyone expected. In spite of all that it’s a hard time. We all ask why. I’m not sure there’s areal answer for that… at least I don’t have one. So I won’t try to guess why with some existential patronizing platitude. I will say this. I will continue to trust God. Death is such an unwelcome visitor. It descends on our lives so suddenly sometimes. Sometimes we think we are ready, but it always crushes. It does this because we were never supposed to die. It’s the villain of our lives, the bad guy in the story. At times like this it seems as if death has won. Our hearts grieve and ache. It can bring a physical pain like a lump of food lodged in your throat. Hope dwindles…yet although it dwindles; it is still there like a faint light off in the distance. Like a star that you can see only in your peripheral vision but when you look directly at it, it vanishes. Yet it is there. It’s unseen, but there. Deep inside I think we all know that resurrection is real. Believers or not, we long for it. Theologically I know it, practically though I grasp the air many times for resurrection. Yet it is still there, whispering oh so faintly…death has lost! Over and over He whispers…: “Death has lost!” Now the whispering continues, but today Hannah shouts…”Death has lost!” and someday Nate and Angie will shout with their daughter and with Jesus “Death, you have lost!” And I’ll be there to watch and then I’ll join with them… “Death! You have lost!”