Day 41
Words Cannot Describe It
When I stand on the beach watching a pod of Porpoise, I’m at a loss for words. Yet, the reality of the experience becomes indelibly etched on my brain. It’s kind of like Suzie Marie Pena. Yes, Suzie Marie Pena. Have you heard of her before? After you read this, I hope you never forget her.
Suzie was buried during the summer of 2005. She was nineteen months old. She was gunned down on July 10th 2005 by a bullet from the LAPD during a standoff with her father in Watts, who held her in his arms as a human shield as he fired upon the police. Her dad died in the gunfire as well. The police officers involved have lost part of their souls. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said: “This is a time for mourning and reflection. Our entire community is going through an inexplicable pain. Words can’t describe it.”[i] It was a terrible accident; a tragedy beyond anybody’s ability to imagine that life would hold such horror.
There’s so much to life that occurs where words cannot describe it. It’s unintentional. It happens. It’s inexplicable. Nobody purposed it. Honestly, there are no answers. We arrive at a place where we must surrender amidst the powerlessness of our humanity and cry; “I don’t get it God!”
Christians and Christianity do not have all the answers that can be expressed in words. There are some things that simply defy explanation. One of the most powerful things a Christian can say to a person overwhelmed with the inexplicable in life is absolutely nothing. To sit with the wounded in the midst of their mourning is a sacred privilege. We need to learn to shut up. When confronted with situations that words cannot describe, we need to do just that; stay speechless. There is a depth and dimension of beauty that God’s Spirit is freed to display when we confess, “I don’t have a clue.”
The authenticity of the Christian witness to one another, the world and our God is compromised by the infernal propensity to have all the answers or know where to find them. It’s time to embrace humility. We must move beyond the superficial, surface level exhortations we so readily distribute to one another and a wounded world.
Sometimes, the stuff of life makes me numb. It’s beyond me to comprehend. Occurences like this make my moral, emotional and intellectual seas boil. It’s almost as if the rocks are attempting to cry out with the pain, sadness and astonishment that such a tragedy is even possible in life.
One thing I am dedicated to is that when I meet God face-to-face in heaven, I’m going to have far more questions for Him than I have answers. One of my questions will be, “Where’s Suzie?” I’m going to find her, hug her, and go for a walk together. I want her to show me her favorite place in heaven because, I’m certain, words cannot describe it.
NOTES
[i] http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-suzie17jul17,0,7680384.story?page=1&coll=la-home-local
