It was one year ago that I received the most horrific phone call, my parents telling me that our friend , Jeremiah Small had been shot and killed by one of his students that very morning. I am thankful to this day that Travis was there as I sobbed through the conversation and prayer , lifting up both Jeremiah and Bayar's family and friends. I had dozens of questions that were unanswered;" Lord, why Jeremiah? Why a man who had devoted his life to these students?"" He was so young ,Lord!" " Lord, his family, how could you allow this to happen to his family?" "Did his death need to be so tragic,Lord?" " Lord, he was so young!". In the days that followed, my heart grieved with literally, hundreds of people and the nation of Kurdistan, I found myself comforted by two things . That Jeremiah was finally, Home in the arms of His Savior that he had loved so much and that his death had not come as a surprise to The Lord, that from the very moment that He had said "Let there be Light!" , God knew what and when Jeremiah's first and last breaths would be. I was reminded by The Lord that Jeremiah's death was a homecoming of a saint ! He had not been taken too early because Jeremiah had lived his life faithfully as a bond servant for Christ , although it is difficult for us who knew him to agree, Jeremiah had finished his work on earth, and it was time for him to go home.
Today as I remember Jeremiah, the song "In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend comes to mind, probably because it reminds me of the hymns that Jeremiah had committed to memory, in fact his love for hymns inspired me to familiarize myself with these age old words.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Although the entire song is a song of victory , it is the last stanza that reminds me of Jeremiah's passing from this earth and entering into his eternal home. In fact, this song is a comfort to me everyday , knowing that I can never,ever be plucked from the hands of my Savior , even in my leaving from this earth, there is not a millisecond that I am out of His will.
So friends, I ask that you remember those who are still grieving, please pray for the comfort of the Small family, Bayar's family, Jeremiah's students, the staff who are still in Kurdistan serving at the school.
- Autumn
Lyrics by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, 2001.
