RIP Ben
It's too much for our human brains to comprehend.
And it really is, folks.
Ben Sauer lost his battle this week here in Buffalo. He was a cute boy who's battle was waged in the entire community. His mother and father shared the death of their boy with the world.
And man, it's heartbreaking, and something that I could barely look at every time it popped up on Facebook or in the news.
This past week my son stood up straight and tall and posed for photos for his prom. We don't talk about it much, but his precious life was threatened at a very young age. Back then I can only remember asking:
"Why?"
Why is a life given and then threatened, or stripped away?
What lesson can there possibly be in such heartbreak?
But the reason why Ben's short life has had such an impact on our lives is simple to understand, really.
It's about love.
The tremendous love between parents and their children.
The earth-shaking love between a child and his siblings. Or a 49-year-old man and his brothers and sisters.
The powerful love that shows itself when a community of people reaches out and supports...and shares...and cares...and tries hard to wrap their arms around those who are suffering.
There's a real beauty there.
Perhaps the greatest beauty that we can muster through eyes that are hindered simply by being human.
There is no understanding it.
It makes no sense.
So many days I simply look up and shake my head and still wonder 'why'.
On bad days I shout 'WHY?!' knowing that the answer is off in my future when my time is up.
The funeral service for beautiful Ben was covered by the news and printed in the newspaper. There are a lot of families who have suffered the same fate in relative anonymity. Their pain is just as real. Their void is never truly filled. The empty spaces are just that.
Empty.
And Ben's family will push forward as so many families are forced to do.
I am praying now for them because it isn't easy to pick up the pieces and their lives will never be the same, but the beauty is there.
I only pray that they remain open to the beauty.
Under the photo of Ben on Facebook there is a comments section, of course, and the folks all across the land chime in. That's the world we live in now. Thankfully most of the comments are testaments to the beauty that resides in the hearts of so many great people.
We are inundated with stories of bad behavior, but when I see that I often think:
"What about the millions of good people who didn't behave badly yesterday?"
That's the real news.
Yet one guy felt it necessary to post this:
"Where's your God? Why didn't He save Ben? Why did He give him cancer?"
I didn't post an answer to such an inane comment, but if I had it may have gone something like this:
God is in the people who are surrounding Ben.
God is in the tears of those who weep.
God is in the beauty that fights back against the evil.
God is in the love.
We will never know why as we wage the war down here. We will not figure it out by fighting back against a God that we don't fully understand, but one thing is certain:
God is in the love that we feel.
That's where He was.
That's where He resides.
In the hearts of those who are left to carry on.
I pray for Ben, but I also pray for those searching for answers.
Celebrate your life.
And it really is, folks.
Ben Sauer lost his battle this week here in Buffalo. He was a cute boy who's battle was waged in the entire community. His mother and father shared the death of their boy with the world.
And man, it's heartbreaking, and something that I could barely look at every time it popped up on Facebook or in the news.
This past week my son stood up straight and tall and posed for photos for his prom. We don't talk about it much, but his precious life was threatened at a very young age. Back then I can only remember asking:
"Why?"
Why is a life given and then threatened, or stripped away?
What lesson can there possibly be in such heartbreak?
But the reason why Ben's short life has had such an impact on our lives is simple to understand, really.
It's about love.
The tremendous love between parents and their children.
The earth-shaking love between a child and his siblings. Or a 49-year-old man and his brothers and sisters.
The powerful love that shows itself when a community of people reaches out and supports...and shares...and cares...and tries hard to wrap their arms around those who are suffering.
There's a real beauty there.
Perhaps the greatest beauty that we can muster through eyes that are hindered simply by being human.
There is no understanding it.
It makes no sense.
So many days I simply look up and shake my head and still wonder 'why'.
On bad days I shout 'WHY?!' knowing that the answer is off in my future when my time is up.
The funeral service for beautiful Ben was covered by the news and printed in the newspaper. There are a lot of families who have suffered the same fate in relative anonymity. Their pain is just as real. Their void is never truly filled. The empty spaces are just that.
Empty.
And Ben's family will push forward as so many families are forced to do.
I am praying now for them because it isn't easy to pick up the pieces and their lives will never be the same, but the beauty is there.
I only pray that they remain open to the beauty.
Under the photo of Ben on Facebook there is a comments section, of course, and the folks all across the land chime in. That's the world we live in now. Thankfully most of the comments are testaments to the beauty that resides in the hearts of so many great people.
We are inundated with stories of bad behavior, but when I see that I often think:
"What about the millions of good people who didn't behave badly yesterday?"
That's the real news.
Yet one guy felt it necessary to post this:
"Where's your God? Why didn't He save Ben? Why did He give him cancer?"
I didn't post an answer to such an inane comment, but if I had it may have gone something like this:
God is in the people who are surrounding Ben.
God is in the tears of those who weep.
God is in the beauty that fights back against the evil.
God is in the love.
We will never know why as we wage the war down here. We will not figure it out by fighting back against a God that we don't fully understand, but one thing is certain:
God is in the love that we feel.
That's where He was.
That's where He resides.
In the hearts of those who are left to carry on.
I pray for Ben, but I also pray for those searching for answers.
Celebrate your life.
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