Mysterious ways

Last Friday my family and I attended the double funeral of my 62-year-old aunt Tisha and her 8-year-old granddaughter Lucia. The service was held in their hometown high school auditorium; the local church was too small. More than 1200 people packed the room, spilling out the back entrance and into side hallways.

Two caskets stood at the front surrounded by flowers. As the service began and songs were sung a solemn line of black-clad children wove down the left aisle toward the front, roses in their hands. One by one they laid their flowers on the podium steps, stood for a moment, then followed an adult back up the other side of the auditorium. These were Lucia's classmates, 8 and 9-year-old boys and girls who followed their teachers in a sweet and silent memorial for their missing friend.

Five nights before the funeral service and one nigh before my aunt and cousin were killed in a tragic car crash, my grandmother had a dream. Grandma dreamt that she was walking down the road and suddenly turned to find a large crowd of people behind her, all dressed in black. She wondered why they were there, but what surprised her the most was that the front line was all children. Small children, standing in front of a crowd, all dressed in black.

That same night my aunt Samantha had a dream that she was in her childhood home, the home where my grandma and aunt Tisha were currently living. Samantha stepped into the back yard to find a white hearse pulling up to the back gate. She was shocked to see it, but even more shocked when she realized the driver was her father - my grandfather - who had passed away almost 7 years ago.

God prepares us for the future in truly mysterious ways. A friend may say something profound that isn't truly understood until much later. A verse in the Bible or a lyric in a hymn may jump out as significant at just the right moment. A prayer may seem to go unheard for years until the answer is finally and perfectly revealed. And a grievous blow may be slightly softened by visions in which a loving father returns to carry his child home and a quiet line of children bid their dear friend goodbye.

God speaks to us in mysterious ways. Listen, watch, and wait for His presence.