To Comfort Others

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 

who comforts us in all our troubles, 

so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

What a privilege and honor it was to visit Manhattan Christian Academy today to speak with an amazing group of sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

• To share KK's story.
• To share my story.
• To cry.
• To laugh.
• To recall that God knows the number of our days and cancer (or a heart attack) can't change that.
• To speak into their lives.
• To listen.
• To remember both KK and Mr. Hobbs (I'm sure I would have liked the self-proclaimed "Black Brady").
• To comfort one another.
• To hug (yes, to hug).
• To give them permission to be sad or even angry in their grief.
• To remind them to talk to God about how they're feeling -- even if their anger is directed at Him -- because He has big shoulders and can handle it.
• To make it clear that sickness, death and disease were never part of God's plan, but having them spend eternity with Him is.
• To advise them to continue to talk to their teachers and to support one another.
• And, ultimately, to share God's story of redemption.