Thunder of Life

Star wrote about innocence. We lose it in simple ways like not understanding how bad it hurts to skin our knees as a kid, especially when the antiseptic spray gets put on. That burn seems like the worst thing that can happen at the age of six.

Greg talked about his burn. He decided to walk across embers. That was a whole new pain.

Pain is in our lives. Sometimes it is self-inflicted from not thinking ahead about wearing our pads when riding a bike or walking across a hot fire. A majority of pain comes from circumstances beyond our control.

It is this pain that often times produces strength and beauty in a someone, or bitterness and lonliness. Rachel lost her brother almost two years ago. He was 17. Rachel is now 16. Thomas lost his little brother who was 3. Thomas is 17. The pain doesn't subside over the years. They learn to cope and deal with life. But when those emotions are brought to the surface, they hurt as if it was yesterday that they suffered the loss.

In their hurt, they are like the legendary Phoenix that rises from the death, ashes and destruction. I watch them time and time again take a stand against the pain. They choose to celebrate life anyway. They choose to continue to have beliefs that can't be shaken even though they are tested. They choose to find sweetness in life and some assurance in the face of death.

This pain robs innocence yet it also brings a purity. When humans face trials in their lives and choose to continue on with grace and dignity, when they choose to rely on God, when they tap a strength they never knew they had, they are suddenly free of circumstances. They know they can deal with just about anything. They know that the worst of life has hit them and they are still standing. It is like the air after a really good thunderstorm. They can inhale, look at the destruction around them and still know they are standing. They are still alive. They are still whole.