It was the fall semester of 1993, and a rather ordinary rainstorm cut short our new student welcome picnic at Prentis Park, just off the campus of the University of South Dakota. For the next several hours it rained and stormed. We finished cleaning things up, went to a student's trailer to talk, and headed home amidst a pretty good downpour. We didn't realize how big an impact one storm could make.

Tina had been at our picnic. She was part of our chapter the year before, and had been involved with one of our more successful small-group Bible studies. That evening she had run a couple of errands after the picnic, and had stopped in at some of the other orientation activities. On the way back to her dorm room, she did what many other students do without thinking-she sprinted through the rain from her car toward her dorm. Among two three-story buildings and two twenty-foot trees, Tina was struck and killed by lightning.

In the months that followed, the chapter dwindled as the leaders grieved. For most (if not all) of us, it was the closest we had been touched by death. We missed our friend, questioned God and looked for answers. Tina had been a long way from God recently, and was in the process of awakening to Jesus. Her life evidenced God's activity, but there were some questions she was working on. Many of us had hoped to talk about them with her and find out what she'd learned over the summer.

In the aftermath of Tina's death, we got a good look at the university counseling system as a team of counselors met with the students and tried to counsel without mentioning God. Their soothing words, softly spoken, were empty comfort to those of us who believed in God. When we heard them we wondered how effective they'd be to someone who didn't believe. Surely nothing tests a world view like coping with an unexpected loss.

Out of our experiences come some bits of wisdom I've gleaned:

Life is hard. Unless we have an adequate grasp of a theology of suffering and evil, unless we know parts of the answers to life's difficult questions, our faith has a glaring vulnerable spot. There is a very good discussion of Christianity's answers in Jim Sire's Why Should Anyone Believe Anything at All? (IVP) It's a helpful starting point as well as a reminder to always look to Jesus.

Grieving takes time. Don't be surprised if your emotions are all over the map for a while. Don't be afraid to talk to a counselor about what you're feeling. If a professional counselor is too expensive, use the resources at your disposal: local churches or pastors, or even the university counseling system (you can always ask them to give you a counselor who is a Christian). In addition, two very helpful books I found were: Finding God, by Larry Crabb, and When God Interrupts, by Craig Barnes.

Beware of "Silver Lining Syndrome." Your theology can get really messed up if you start trying to explain a tragedy in light of some possible good that may happen because of it. We don't know all the answers. Though it is definitely a part of God's nature to turn something meant for evil into something good, that doesn't mean he likes the evil.

God is good. God is trustworthy. When your world is reeling, your heart aching and your mind racing with questions, hold on to these two truths.