Bearing One Another's Burdens

My first idea for the title was "Moved".  But I thought it might cause blog confusion.

But when I think about this week the first word that comes to mind is "Moved".  I have been deeply moved by people I know and by people I didn't know until now and by some who I may never know.

Last Saturday, during Callie's party, we found out that, on Friday night, a family we knew had lost their father to carbon monoxide poisoning due to a gas leak in the house and that the mother was unconscious, had been transferred to an Indianapolis hospital and was not expected to live either. 

I'm not exactly sure how well my parents knew this couple.  They are about the same age probably and I know they attended some joint church social gatherings and I know their grandchildren attended the Bible camp where my parents work.  One of the couples sons and his family attend the same church as one of my sisters.

I had met the couple maybe two or three times and I know their daughter in law just a little bit from the same church camp.

All that to say, we knew them, but I only barely new them.

But how could you hear this news and not be heart broken for them?  Both parents in one night!

All Saturday and Sunday we watched for news of the mother.  I wasn't hearing anything so I started looking on Facebook.  I saw that one of their sons and I had a mutual friend.  This was quite surprising to me so I sent my friend a message.  Turns out, they had gone to college together and had been great friends.  My friend is out of the country and has a house not too far from the hospital.  She asked me to please let them know about the vacant house and tell them that they were welcome to stay there.  She has another friend who went to wash sheets and make sure everything was ready for guests.  At first it seemed the house wouldn't be used, but then a different son who lives on the opposite side of the country (so far that it took them almost three days to get here) arrived with his family of six and needed a place to stay.

I talked to the daughter that I knew already and she told me of people they had never met bringing food, offering shelter, money given for travel expenses, a whole bed and breakfast in their town offered for lodging for family coming from out of town.  I think I saw that a local heating and cooling company made all the repairs needed at no charge.  This is bearing one another's burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).  I'm not sure I've seen it on such a grand, spread out scale before.  Mutual friends of mutual friends helping out people they've never even heard of before.

Moved!

What has moved me the most though, is seeing how this couple had impacted so many people and the messages those people were leaving on Facebook.  They had both been teachers and the notes people have written have made me wish I had taken the time to get to know them better!  These were two people who loved the Lord and apparently loved people and took the time to care for others.  These were two people who had a fascinating life living abroad, working for the Peace Corps and helping others and she was even a home economics teacher in another country.  But I never took the time to say more than "Hi". 

It's my loss and I've wondered over the last couple of days what else, who else,  I've missed out on because of busyness or pride or indifference. 

I hope it will be the last time!

{Please, if you think of them, pray for their family.  They were very involved parents and grandparents and will be leaving a huge hole}