Point of View

Not many things get to us like the recent events involving nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Jessica was a beautiful, radiant, energetic third grader whose smile could lighten up any place she was. Then, the unthinkable happened—from her own bedroom, she was abducted and her life was taken.

Since February 23, we have all been on an emotional roller coaster that started by praying for safety, and ended by praying for strength. Along with Jessica’s dad, Mark, and her grandparents, we have experienced a wide range of feelings: hope, fear, disbelief, sadness, anger and much grief.

Maybe like I did, you watched the special service for Jessica on TV March 26. Although there are still tears to be shed and things to be done (like a campaign for tougher legislation against sexual predators), closure has begun. But what do we do with our feelings and questions about a young, innocent girl who was taken so unfairly?

Some of the responses are well meaning, but don’t really help. To say, “Heaven needed another angel,” is a nice thought, but to Jessica’s family and friends, she was like an angel to them here on earth. Some say, “God needed her more than we did.” But to believe that, makes God either selfish or uncaring. That view would turn us away from the One we need the most right now. Others can only say, “It’s a shame something like this happened.” And it is. When God first created our world, it was a perfect world ... until we tried to take charge. After this life, God has another perfect world prepared in a place called Heaven. But for now, we live in an imperfect world; and in an imperfect world, bad things happen to good people ... even young good people.

There are two thoughts that have helped me in dealing with this painful tragedy. One, I remember that Jessica wasn’t created to live for only nine years—she was created to live forever. God didn’t bring this beautiful brown-haired, brown-eyed girl into existence to exist just for nine years. God made Jessica to last forever. Her time here was short, but it was purposeful. We must remember: It’s not how long she lived, but how she lived that matters most.

The second thought that has helped me is this: At one moment, Jessica was in Homosassa, and the next moment, she was in heaven. Jessica’s brown eyes closed, as if only to blink, and the next sight she saw was heaven. We are sad, but Jessica is not. She is in the happiest place ever! She would tell us, “If you could see me now, your sorrow would be replaced with a smile.” The Bible promises that those who place their trust in God’s Son, Jesus, as their Savior, like Jessica did, will also live forever in heaven. Death has temporarily separated us from Jessica, but one day, we will see her again in that land where we never have to say good-bye.

I am a father with a nine-year-old as well. I can only imagine the hurt and pain Jessica’s family is going through. But the hope to hang on to, to get us through, is this: Jessica didn’t go from life to death—she went from Homosassa to heaven. And one day, we will be reunited with her again.