Putting God in the Driver’s Seat:  Very early in the morning of Sunday, June 3rd, my phone started to ring.  Being that the light of dawn was barely filling the morning sky and having noticed the caller ID on my phone, I knew this wasn’t going to be a good call.  I quickly learned that a 14-year-old member of my extended Finn Family, Evan Battani, died in his sleep the night of his 8th-grade graduation.  Evan went to his 8th-grade graduation, the subsequent class party and then over to his friend Josh’s house for an overnight with several of his buddies.  Evan and his buddies enjoyed all the evening festivities and once at Josh’s home, they played video games until 2:30 a.m.  Josh’s mom broke up the video game marathon and told the guys they had to get some sleep.  They did.  Most started to stir around 11 a.m., but Evan appeared to be sound asleep.  Josh’s mom told the guys to let Evan sleep because if he wasn’t getting up with all the noise they were creating, he was probably pretty exhausted.  At 2:30 p.m. they decided it was time to wake Evan and get on with the rest of the day.  Josh went up to wake Evan, but he didn’t respond.  After yelling for his parents, they called 911.  After emergency personnel arrived at the house, it was determined Evan died in his sleep.
 
Evan’s parents, Rick and Rene, were out near Kalamazoo attending the Division 3 State Track Finals with their son Robbie who earned a spot in the state meet.  The local sheriff’s department did not want anyone to contact Rick and Rene or anyone else for that matter until they got home.  Evan’s parents repeatedly tried texting their son and others at the other house but never got a response; they figured they were having a great time.  Shortly after 7:00 p.m., Rick and Rene with several of their younger kids in tow made it home after a long day.  As they pulled onto their property, they noticed a few Lapeer County Sheriff Deputy vehicles.  Something was wrong.  Rick and Rene learned the horrific news that their son Evan died in his sleep.
 
How could this be?  Evan was only 14.  He was athletic and in perfect health.  He was a typical teenager enjoying life.  An autopsy was performed and it came back inconclusive.  The cause of death was unknown.  It will be weeks before any toxicology reports come back, but there was no sign of heart disease or anything else of note.  It appeared Evan died of natural causes.
 
That Monday morning, June 4, I made the trek out to Almont to be with Rick and Rene and their family to start planning the funeral.  Evan was now the third member of the larger Finn Family to die at a young age.  Matt died in 2004 at the age of 14.  Donnie died in 2007 at the age of 20.  Now Evan at the age of 14.  They were all cousins.  There are two things about the Finn and Battani families that are important to know:  1) they have strength in numbers and 2) they are people of great faith!  It’s an incredible and awesome experience to be the priest in the family!  I knew without hesitation it wasn’t going to be difficult for me to convince them that even in the midst of this tragic news, God was in the driver’s seat and would walk with them on this painful journey.  If we let him do his work and if we truly trust and believe in him, he would be able to accomplish incredible things.  We had to … they had to … make sure God was ALWAYS in the driver’s seat of this journey!
 
What a journey it was!  In so many ways I felt I climbed God’s holy mountain with them and caught glimpses of heaven along the way.  There were so many “God sightings” that made me pause, look up to heaven and thank God for his awesome work.  This could only happen because God was in the driver’s seat!
 
We talked, and cried, for hours that Monday morning.  I explained they would find themselves consoling others that week.  Yes, they would be the grieving parents, but now they would find themselves as the ones bringing the message of consolation to many.  It’s weird but that’s the way it works.  I repeatedly told them that their words to people … their simple one-minute conversations … would have a lasting impact on people’s lives.  I helped them see that their words had to be chosen wisely.  THEY could help move mountains.  They could help people heal by their testimony of the great power of God at work in the midst of this tragedy.  They could help others deepen their own relationship with Jesus.
 
We then turned our attention to the family in whose house Evan died.  Rick and Rene wanted to reach out to them.  They knew they needed healing too!  This was a tragedy for many, not just Rick and Rene.  A few text messages were sent and received; before long Josh’s parents, Jim and Lisa, arrived at the house.  We ended up meeting in the barn because the house was packed with people and there would be no privacy.  Rick, Rene, Jim, Lisa, my brother-in-law’s sister Chris and I converged in the upper room at the barn.  As I just typed “upper room” I got the chills because it was in the Upper Room where Jesus met with his disciples after the Resurrection.  This encounter was truly an “upper room” experience.  Jim and Lisa looked as rough as Rick and Rene did.  They were frightened and scared.  What would be said?  How do you act?  How would they be treated?  Massive hugs and tears were shared.  God was truly in the driver’s seat.  Love was allowed to win.  I heard Rick and Rene say “thank you” to Jim and Lisa over and over again.  God was at work in that upper room.  Jim and Lisa were thanked for taking care of their son.  They were thanked for making sure he didn’t die alone.  They were thanked for having the party afterwards which allowed Evan’s last hours on earth to be joy-filled.  They were thanked for the sufferings they endured during the agonizing 5 hours they had to hold onto the news.  Evan had completed his mission on earth and it was evident it was simply time for God to bring this precious child back home to heaven.  The very God who walked with Evan to heaven will be the very God who walks with them.  There was no real reason to fear the journey because God was very much in the driver’s seat and his presence was made known over and over again.  We were in the upper room … and Jesus was present.
 
To be continued.
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.  Happy Father’s Day!
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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