November 30, 1998.
When I think of that night, flashes of images fill my head. I see my house full of my uncles and aunts. My brothers, sister, mom and I surrounded at my father’s bed as his last moments on this earth faded. My father had lost his battle with cancer.
What is a 6 year to do? Should he cry like everyone else? Is he supposed to drop down to his knees to pray?
I vividly remember not crying. I remember looking around at my family as they wept and wept. My mom took my siblings and I into the upstairs room and held us. “What’s going on mommy?” “Why are you crying?” “Is daddy okay?”
It’s been 20 years since my father, Juan Manuel Posada, left this earth to return home to the Lord. What a journey it’s been. What a hard life my family has lived. What a strong warrior of a mom I have in Ruth Posada. The past 20 years have seen the deepest depths of the deepest valley. They have also soared across the highest peaks of the tallest mountain. The Lord has taught me many things about who He is and why He took my father home when He did.
Ultimately, He has shown His deep and steadfast love for the widow and the fatherless.
Jesus Provided for Widows
In Luke 7:11-17, we read of a story about Jesus’ beautiful interaction with a widow. Jesus, traveling with his disciples, were approaching the gate of a city called Nain when they saw a funeral procession of a young man. The young man’s mother, accompanied by a great crowd followed after him. Christ saw her weeping and had compassion on her, so He graciously approached her, told her to weep no more, touched the coffin where the man lay and raised him back to life. He gave the son back to his mother! How miraculous! Widows at this time were among the lowest, poorest and most oppressed people. They were even further forgotten about if they did not have a son to provide for her and the family. What Jesus did was radical!
“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
As each year has come and gone since my dad passed away, I am more and more amazed at the compassion the Lord had on my mother and family. Christ knew the pain my mother and family were experiencing. He had seen it with His own two eyes. He had personally touched that man’s coffin and provided for that woman. There is no doubt in my mind that my siblings and I are alive because of the compassion the Lord had on my family. Friends and family provided meals for us. My mother sacrificed her entire paycheck and more to give us food, clothes and a roof over our head. The Lord provided what we needed to sustain us. Sure, we lived paycheck to paycheck. Sure, my mom was worn out from working, taking classes and raising us rowdy kids.
But, the Lord provided. He has deep and steadfast love for widows and the fatherless.
Tragedy and Pain Can Lead to God’s Glory
The story in Luke 7 ends with the crowd being in awe and fear of Jesus, and this leads them to glorify God together.
My family each dealt with the loss of my father in different ways. We grew up not loving or fearing the Lord. We strayed. We were like sheep who have gone astray. But God intervened in our lives at different moments and showed us that He is our Heavenly Father who has sustained us for so many years. He showed us that He and He alone is deserving of all the glory. We did not get ourselves to where we are on our own. We are incapable of giving ourselves breath each day. We are incapable of transforming our own heart to desire God.
God did that. God brought us to faith in Him. He orchestrated our life. We are the symphony, He our Conductor. He is composing the song and we are invited to play the melodies and harmonies of His piece.
Like the people at the end of the story in Luke 7, we too gave God glory for what He has done. If He had not taken my father back home, I do not know where we would be. He somehow used that moment to lead us to church, to introduce us to Christ in Vacation Bible School and Sunday School as little kids. He used that moment to start a transformation in my mother into a strong, sacrificial warrior, leaning on the power and strength of God to provide everything for us. God showed His deep and steadfast love for us by bringing us to faith in Him.
If you are dealing with the loss of a parent or loved one, know that the Lord has deep, steadfast, and compassionate love on you. He is for you and not against you.
– Josh Posada
Comfort of Christ in the Midst of Loss
So, brothers and sisters, if you are reading this and are dealing with the loss of a parent or loved one, know that the Lord has deep, steadfast, and compassionate love on you. He is for you and not against you. The loss is not outside of His will for you. That may be one of the hardest things to hear. Trust me. I know what it is like to be on the other end of those words.
“God did this? Why would He? Doesn’t He love me?”
He does love you. He has a plan for all things. Trust Him. It may take 20 years for you to come a little close to understanding or be at peace and that is okay. Just rest knowing that He will provide all you need and will receive all glory in the end.
He loves you, widow. He loves you, fatherless children.
I’ll close with this verse and I pray you find comfort in it and ultimately, the Lord: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
