A couple of my friends have blogged about this but it has been too hard for me to blog about until now.

Our good friends, the Hingles, lost their 23 year old son, Josh two weeks ago yesterday. We got a call from one of Josh’s sisters saying her three oldest brothers had gone swimming after work. Josh went under and they couldn’t find him. That was all she knew and she asked us to pray.

We thought at first that they were swimming in a river and he was lost downstream somewhere. We had hope they would find him alive. After not hearing back from anyone, I called my daughter, Elizabeth, who was working with the Hingle girls at their Café. She said they had closed the Café and were headed to where Josh went down.

I decided I needed to go too. My heart sank when I got there. I saw, not a river, but the lake and I knew there was no hope of finding Josh alive. My prayers turned from Josh to his family. Many of the Hingle’s friends had gathered with them on the lake shore to be with them as the rescue divers looked for Josh.

This was the beginning of the hardest week of my life. I am sure many people would agree. Grieving and watching others grieve is so very hard.

At the lake we watched the divers go out trying to find Josh. We watched the family looking out at the lake knowing their son/brother was out there, under the water. We saw the pain of the brothers who had tried with every last bit of their energy to save their brother, almost losing their lives in the process.

Friends too looked out at the lake not willing to believe this tragedy could be happening to someone they knew. No, this is something you read about happening to other people, not you. I saw Steve, Josh’s dad, weak with cancer reclining in his van seat looking so weary, so sad.

Minutes dragged into hours as the divers kept searching for Josh. On the shore all we could do was watch and pray, hug each other, cry, and pray some more. We went to the store for food and drinks, though not many felt like eating. It was something we could do to try to help. We so wanted to help. We wanted to do more, to take away some of the pain this family was feeling. We couldn’t, so we prayed.

Many people left as the hour got later but the family, a few friends, and two of my girls, Miriam and Elizabeth, stayed on at the lake shore waiting.

I returned the next day to watch again with the family. Friends from out of state drove all night to be with the family. I brought food from friends, hoping someone would want to eat today. Again trying to help, feeling so helpless.

Finally almost 24 hours after he went down they found Josh. It seemed even more real now. The coroner arrived. They brought Josh in and his parents went over to see him. Our hearts were breaking as they helped Steve to the shore to look at the lifeless body of his dear son. I sobbed as Josh’s little brother, too little to realize what was going on, said “I want to see Josh.” Brothers, sisters, and friends clung to each other as Josh was placed in the vehicle to be taken to the funeral home. Tears, so many tears.

My girls and I went to the Hingle's home to try to help. What can you do for a family in a time like this? Will anything really help? We have to do something. Everyone wants to help in some way. We answered phones, made calls, straightened up the house, fed animals, started laundry, organized the food that was coming in, and prayed, always praying. If we can just keep busy we can’t think as much about what just happened.

The week passed in a blur of trying each day to help in some way. The Lord just impressed us with the need to be there, to serve. It was so hard to watch my girls as they grieved for this precious young man who they thought of as a brother and to watch as they tried to comfort their friends who were hurting. I never knew grief could be so exhausting.

Yes, we are still grieving now but in our grief we do have hope. That doesn’t seem possible and it isn’t, except for the Lord. I can’t imagine going through this without the Lord. We have been thrown into the Lord’s arms in total dependence, trusting Him to help us through each day.  We don’t grieve as those who have no hope (I Thess. 4:13) We have the hope of seeing Josh again one day in heaven. We can rejoice that Josh is, even now, at home with the Lord Jesus.

Josh loved the Lord. He was a man after God’s heart. He was one of the kindest, most joyful guys ever. He had this great smile and loved to tease. Oh, how we will miss him!

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Posted by imasharp

Thanks for sharing that Pam. You were there and that is so good. Praying is the best we can do. Like you said, we have hope. That is a blessing. Prayers for the family and friends.
Christy

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