For Beau
It’s not supposed to be this way. You’re not supposed to see your friends’ pictures on news articles about their four-year-old dying. You’re not supposed to be astounded by their strong faith in the face of unimaginable grief. You always hope every believer will have that kind of faith, but you pray you never have to find out if they do.
You pray that everyone you know will go their entire life not having to be tested in that way, but that’s not the world we live in.
Grief is an interesting thing; it visits everyone over the course of a life. Sometimes it lingers beyond its welcome and other times it passes by like a thief in the night. Sometimes it visits the lonesome, left to suffer all on their own, while other times it hangs over a city like a storm cloud that the wind just can’t blow away.
That’s what happened here in Hartselle; tragedy struck and grief rolled through the streets like rain. An ER waiting room was crowded with people and it seemed like the whole world stopped, but the hardest part about grief is that the world doesn’t stop. It just keeps on going like nothing happened.
Eventually, one day, the wind begins to blow, and the sun begins to cut through the clouds.
In Hartselle, the most powerful wind that has blown is the one coming from those who have every excuse to bunker down and just wait out the storm.
What a testimony that the first words our city heard from Hailey and Kevin Clark were words filled with faith and strength. Words that pointed to their grief over the loss of their sweet son, but also pointed to their faithful Father.
We may never know the extent of God’s plan with Beau’s life, but the Clarks reminded us that whatever it is, it’s wonderful and marvelous. They reminded us that it’s not pointless or wasted, and while the ground will remain wet from the storm that passed for years to come, beautiful flowers will grow in its place because of Beau Clark.
