Good Friday?

Today is Friday. But not just any ordinary Friday. Today is the Christian remembrance of what is historically known as Good Friday. What is good about this Friday? Mock trials, false witnesses, scourging, evil on top, and good suffering the ultimate humiliation of Roman crucifixion. Good Friday.

Today is something more…something else. Today I sit, along with my dad and brother, at the bedside of my mom who is dying. It has been long like a trip that doesn’t seem to have an end. They call it Alzheimer's, which means we haven’t had momma with us for many years. And now the end is hours away. “It could be any time now,” we are told. How strange is it that these words actually become words of consolation and comfort after such a long grind of witnessing a loved one suffer? The labored breathing and atrophied arms, legs and hands of someone who delighted in digging the dirt of her flower gardens is more than I think I can stand. I’m feeling something rise up within me that cries out to God for mercy. More than anything I want God to release her from this suffering. I believe He sees clearly what is happening and am more than a little disappointed that He doesn’t end this. Why should she suffer and why should we have to witness her struggle?

Perhaps the answers are to be revealed at some time in the future. But on this Friday, designated as Good by the Christian calendar, I am gently reminded of a Father who witnessed unspeakable suffering by His beloved son. God's love was displayed as never before on that Friday so long ago. If His love for mankind was greater than the images of suffering that shattered His heart then, I choose to trust His love today.