Lord, this morning we lift up the Grabb and Rodgers families as they mourn the loss of their beloved little ones, Corbin and Jake. Only You know why these things work out the way that they do, why we lose parts of our hearts before there is time to fully know them. But we know that you are wrapping your arms around these young ones today and that they know a freedom and joy beyond our understanding. Let each one mourning a loss this morning have a touch of your presence and comfort. Amen.


When BJ was 6 or 7 years old he, Brent and I went to the U.S. Nationals drag race just outside Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend. This was an environment that I had worked in previously and I wanted to share it with Beej. We sat in the stands and watched round after round of racing, walked through the pits collecting autographs on his John Force t-shirt and listenes as he excitedly chatted on about the highlight of the day for him - when the body of one of the "funny cars" flew off of its chasis and sailed high through the air (fortunately no one was injured) in the midst of the run.

As with other things that made an impression on BJ, he started paying attention to and asking questions about this loud, odor-intense sport. Each time I saw him for some time to come he would have questions about recent races, especially about the driver whose car he'd seen come apart, and he loved watching the drag racing videos that I owned. I enjoyed sharing this interest with him.

As time passed and the experience faded his interests gradually moved on to other things. A few years later I'm not certain he had any interest in any of the men who had signed his shirt that August day, but the important thing was that a bigger name had become the focus of his life and was inscribed deep on his heart, not on the surface of some flimsy cotton material. Beej knew Jesus Christ in a real way and his love for Him was pushing out some of the other trappings of life at an early age. He was grasping an understanding of what is really important and had already taken it to heart to the point that he was sharing Christ with neighbors and friends.

His love for the Saviour never faded, it simply continued to grow until the day he went home to live with Him in glory. The autographs are meaningless as he stands with the only "crowd" that ever really mattered.

That is another interest we have in common, but his grasp is at a much higher level than mine.

Praising Him,

Brad