It is only as we realize that all things are known to God and that there are purposes and reasons that He allows everything to happen, even accidents and tragedies like that which took Ronnie..

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we read that there is a time for all things.

We are constantly impressed with the uncertainty of life. Sorrow is universal. No one can escape it. No matter our age. Youth or older age doesn't give us a reprieve. In such a time there is but One who can bring light out of the darkness, who can heal the heart that is broken by grief, who can bring peace of soul and strength of spirit. That One is the God whom Paul called, The God of all comfort. God did not fail Paul. Job said after everything had been taken away from him, What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive sorrow? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. God did not fail Job. God did not fail these men and He will not fail this family today.

God does not give assurance against hardship, failures, troubles, suffering, grief, accidents, or tragedies like the one that Ronnie had. This life comes with no guarantees except death. Death is a certainty for us all. We have no guarantee of the length of our life either.

There is a power able to rise us above this tragedy and to comfort us in the face of death itself. In the cross we can see God suffering with us and for us, we see an example of triumph over agony. When we become a Christian, God puts in us a bit of Himself so we won't be bitter and He gives us an example of how to meet suffering and triumph over it.

We must remember that God is adequate for each situation and circumstance of life. At such a time as this we need to trust in the Lord God with complete confidence. He understands our dismay and knows the hurt and loneliness of each heart. He is well aware of our tears and our questions.

Yes, we question God. We wonder how God could allow such a tragedy to take a loved one, like Ronnie?

We ask the question. The big one - why? And it isn't wrong to ask the question. Jesus Himself asked the same question on the cross, My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? But just because we can ask the question doesn't mean we will receive an answer. It is not for us to understand the ways of God. He is far wiser than us. His ways are higher and nobler and greater than ours. We can only trust in God's ways, and believe that He knows best for us all.

Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know that all things (that includes the bad as well as the good things) work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." So while we don't understand the reason why, we do know that there was a reason. We most likely will never understand the reason.

Maybe the reason is because Ronnie's  accident and death has touched so many lives for God. People are examining their lives and giving them to Jesus.

We know that Ronnie  loved God and that God loved him. Ronnie was a faithful believer who walked with God. Even though we fell the pain of his loss, we know that he is with God. This is one of the ways we can cope with our feelings, because we know Ronnie  is walking with God.

I heard it best explained by a little boy who heard the story of Enoch in Sunday School. The scripture says that Enoch walked with God and was not because God took him ..." But as the young boy told the story to his mother that afternoon he said, "There was a man by the name of Enoch. God and Enoch used to go for long walks together. They loved each other a lot. One day God and Enoch went for a walk and they went farther than they had ever gone before, and God said to Enoch you know you're closer to my house than you are to yours, why don't you just come on home with me.

The other day Ronnie and God were walking together and God said Ronnie  you know we're closer to my house than we are to yours, why don't just you come home with me? And Ronnie did.