I stared at the status in disbelief.

Wait. No. That can’t be right. 

I read it several more times. Then things began to click.

This is real. Those other ominous updates make sense now.

I read it again.  “No! No! NO!”

Facebook had just delivered the news that precious friends – the entire family – were gone.

Snuffed out in a moment.

I hate Death. I’ll never get used to it. It’s so Unnatural.

When life is ‘Normal’, we can wax eloquent about how Death is a Natural part of Life.

The Circle of Life.

Well, if it’s Natural, then why does it Rip your Heart Out?

Take your Breath Away?

Leave you Weak.

Sick.

Numb.

Helpless.

Shattered.

Screaming, “No! No! NO!”

No. Death is not Natural. It’s simply Inevitable.

None of us can Escape it. But we all know we were not Created for it.

We spend our Lives keeping It at bay. We protect our Selves and our Loved Ones against It.

We beg God to keep It far from us.

But in the End it Comes. The Inevitable Thief.

To take what does Not belong to It.

We were Created for Life. Sin has stolen that Life from Us.

But We have a hope! Jesus.

1 Cor 15:54-55.

But until He comes again, I will still be left Breathless, Numb, Shattered by the Loss of a Life.

Knowing that He did not Create Us for Death, but for Life.

—————————————————————————————————

Written in Loving Memory and Honour of Jeff, Jiin, & Jasmine Roggenback, a family whose life was marked by radical commitment to Jesus and His command to Go and Make Disciples of All Nations. They impacted lives all over the world. I was honoured to work with the Jeff & Jiin in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Jeff was a close friend of the Sanborns for many years. The Roggenbacks died in a collision in Thailand on June 7, 2014.