Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4)
I had the honor of interviewing a sweet boy named Danny in Central California. His story about his eight-year-old friend, Paul, is true.
“After the funeral, I was crying and thinking, how could such a nice kid drown? God knew about Paul, how he made long prayers while everybody waited to eat. He loved Jesus more than anyone I know, so why did he die?
“The ashes were spread over the ocean. Then the second-grade class went outside to say goodbye. The teacher passed out blue balloons.
“She said, ‘On the count of three, we’ll release our balloons toward heaven, just as we are releasing Paul to the Lord. Ready, one—two—three.’
“As they rose, the wind pushed the balloons toward hills, away from the water.
“The next day, I was still crying. My mom tried to make me feel better, but she stopped in the middle of a sentence. I followed her stare.
“Outside the kitchen window, was one of Paul’s balloons, just floating there. We ran out and watched the blue helium balloon fly to the sea—in the opposite direction of the normal winds—to where Paul was buried.
“I knew it was a message from God.
“He was saying, ‘If I am big enough to bring this balloon right to you, then I am big enough to take care of Paul in heaven.’”
Prayer: Praise the God of all comfort, who never fails to meet us in our troubles.