When the Rhythm Stops: A Call to Comfort

This week, we finally felt like we were finding our rhythm.

Farm life is all about cycles. We were handling our chores and knocking things off our plate. We started weaning Dahliah from her bull, getting two gallons of fresh milk a day. We were preparing for the cold snap, getting the wood stacked high and dealing with cows trying to sneak into the warm barn. I even found time to get back in the kitchen, working on my pizza crust recipe and rendering tallow for hand moisturizer.

Life felt moving. It felt manageable.

And then, in a heartbeat, the world stopped.

We received word that friends of ours from church—an amazing, loving family—had just experienced the worst thing imaginable. They lost their daughter.

The news stopped us in our tracks. It dropped us to our knees to pray, but it also instantly transported us back to the moment we lost Larson. We know that feeling. We know that silence. And we know that this family is about to walk through a valley that requires others to help carry them.

The Call to Step Up There is a verse in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 that has been on my heart this week. It says that God “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

This is that moment. This is why we are here.

Looking back at my own journey with Larson, I know the dangerous path of trying to do it alone. I didn't stay close to God or people. I sprayed out of control. I tried to isolate, using my anger to callous over my hurt just so I could breathe. Ultimately, that hurt my family more, to the point where I had to go to rehab to acquire the tools I needed to heal and stay sober.

I share that because I know how vital support is. We cannot do this alone.

My Prayer Request I am praying that God uses us to help this family grieve. I pray that, unlike my past experience, they are able to stay close to God and each other through these dark times.

Please, take a moment this week to stop your own rhythm.

• Pray for this family who just lost their daughter.

• Pray for her husband and their children, that they find strength in one another.

• Pray that we all say "Yes" to the opportunities to comfort those who are hurting.

Through God, we can do amazing things—even in the hardest moments.