Creative Chaos: Redeeming Tragedy

Carlos over at ragamuffinsoul.com has asked his readers to chime in each Thursday with random examples of creativity in action. We call it “Creative Chaos.”

I’m a little late in the game this week, but I still want to share something that to me represents the highest possible form of creativity…

With the news of the tragedy that struck the Chapmans yesterday, I was blindsided by the eerily similar story of my friends Julie and Smith Peck. They lost their 4 year old son, Jackson, on December 23, 2004. While leaving to go caroling with family and friends, Smith’s mom Roz accidentally backed her SUV into her grandson. Jackson lost his life, but his family took the horror of it all and did something very much after God’s own heart… They turned their tragedy into a message of hope and forgiveness.

I first struck up my friendship with the Pecks while on a mission trip with a team from our church. I’ve wept as I edited home videos of Jackson to be shown on television shows. We’ve taken our family to Jackson’s birthday parties that his parents and sisters have thrown every year since they lost him… What I’ve seen is a family who has a deep understanding of the sovereignty of God and a rich knowledge that He doesn’t always rely on sunny days to brighten the world.

The fruit of their courage has been federal legislation that has helped prevent similar accidents from happening to other families. Locally, they lead a ministry called “Grief Share” that gives families dealing with loss a network of support. They have also been given opportunities to share the story of their faith with a national audience. In fact, the story that The Oprah Show ran to tell their story is being re-aired this Friday (May 23), and will feature a letter sent by an Oprah watcher who credits the Peck’s story for saving her own daughter’s life.

Tragedy is often a catalyst for new life. Anything that lives is given the opportunity for life by something else that gives its own life away. I pray for the Chapmans’ son to run full speed into this chapter with courage and hope. It will always hurt, but there IS a redemption. Redemption is simply in God’s nature.

The Jackson Smith Peck Foundation – jspfoundation.com