The
Death of a Friend’s Son
So much
sadness and so many questions!
Reading the
many tributes to Lammert’s short life, shows what an impact he had and will
continue to have as friends and family remember all the many effects that he
has had in their lives. The whole of East London and further afield, because of
the impact of FaceBook and YouTube, have been drawn to pray to God the Father
for mercy and grace and for Lammert’s return to his family. All our prayers
went to the Father after Lammert had unfortunately already died in the accident
which took his life so cruelly in the early hours of Thursday morning on the 1st
December 2011. The delay of FOUR days in finding him, so close to the N2 that
links East London to his home in Gonubie, led so many people to come before the
God of Heaven to plead for his safe return. I expect that our thoughts ranged
from the thought of an abduction/hijack which could have entailed torture and
murder to an accident which meant that he could not just walk back into the
loving arms of his Mum and Dad.... maybe he had amnesia or was being held
hostage!! As the days went by and all our lives were overshadowed by the desire
to have him found, so that the mystery could be sorted out, we didn’t want to
believe that it could end in tragedy. My thoughts were forever returning to his
parents and the sorrow & anxiety that must be a minute by minute reality.
Memories from my own experience of times when I woke up in the early hours of
the morning to find that my own son had not returned after a band gig or time
out with friends, surfaced and made me understand the grief and worry of the
heart of a mother or father.
In the end,
the discovery of his bakkie in the dense bush below the N2 highway was a closure
of sorts. It at least took away the possible fear that was gripping people’s
hearts that there was some kind of gang that would hijack vehicles around the
place we live and love. The thought that it might be unsafe to drive to town could
be debilitating unless we remembered that we serve a God of Love and that the
Word says that “Perfect Love casts out fear”.
My prayer
is that our Lord will bring comfort and that His loving presence will surround
and hold all his loved ones, especially his mother, Jakobje, father, John and
brothers, JohnB, Ritze and Kaleb, in the palm of His hand. I pray that many who
do not know Jesus as Lord and Saviour will come to that knowledge in the days
ahead and respond to the call to give their hearts to Jesus.
From a
friend, Jo
