Editor’s note: On March 19, Dwight Easler’s 6-year-old son, Benji, died when an amusement train ride derailed and overturned at a Spartanburg public park. The tragedy made national headlines. Several members of Corinth Church, Gaffney, including Easler (the church’s pastor), along with his pregnant wife, Tabitha, and their two other sons, were injured in the accident. As we were preparing this article for publication, Tabitha gave birth to the couple’s first daughter, Hannah Hope, on April 27. Easler told us his daughter’s name was suggested some time ago by Benji, who offered, “Hannahs are always beautiful.”
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:1-3, New King James Version).
The Easlers, from Christmas 2010, from left: Matthew, Seth, Dwight, Benji and Tabitha.As I write this, it has been one month and two days since my life changed forever. My family and my church family were turned upside down like the train that day. The joy and happiness of waiting for a new addition to the family was quickly turned to pain, worry and sorrow for the one who would not be there when the baby came. The grief of loss, and the traumatic stress for those who have to relive images at such a young age, have been difficult. For all those who were on the train, we have had a personal reminder that we live in a fallen world where terrible things happen. The reality that we are not guaranteed tomorrow – and that we have little grasp upon those who are so precious to us – is stunning.
As I lay bleeding and praying beside Benji that day, the sudden reality of a lack of control took over my body. All I could do was call out to my Lord and Savior to help me handle what I feared was to come. I felt, as Job said, that “what I have feared has come upon me.” The little child those Good Samaritans and first responders were frantically working to keep on the earth would no longer hug his mother and tell her she was a princess, or pull on my shirt and ask me to wrestle. I would no longer hear his voice waking his brothers in the morning or laughing in the back of the van at their jokes.
In just a split second, he left this earth for a place that, just two months earlier, he said he could not wait to see. After his baptism in January, he told one of his children’s church leaders that he could not wait to die so that he could see God’s face and play ninja with Jesus. Benji was a true boy who had few fears, a simple faith and a genuine love of people. After his profession of faith, he often asked me to describe heaven to him. His faith truly was evidence of things unseen. His simple faith in the grace of God has been the biggest hope and comfort to me in the weeks since this tragedy.
We have seen so much evidence of God’s presence and power in the moments and days since the accident. God worked in amazing ways through the lives of a multitude of people to show us the love of Jesus in practical ways. I hesitate to list any names, because there is no way to mention all of the people who have ministered to us. The friends, family, pastors, chaplains, and counselors who volunteered their time, service, and expertise to help us – and just be with us – were invaluable, and there is no way that we could ever thank them enough. The letters and cards from all over the country have been such an encouragement to us. Our church family at Corinth Baptist Church has responded overwhelmingly to this tragedy by turning their sorrow into service. The response of our church family and churches throughout the state that have prayed for us and given so generously to assist us with our funeral and medical expenses is overwhelming.
Even more than this, the Lord has renewed many lives and given us a new vision of what God is doing. The lives changed by Christ, and the opportunities to share the gospel in ways that were previously hindered, have been evidence of God’s ability to use tragedy for His good.
Tabitha Easler holds her newborn daughter, Hannah, whose name was suggested by her brother, Benji.Although we still weep for our loss on this earth, we do not weep for Benji, because he is seeing what he longed to see. Neither do we weep because we feel God is powerless to do anything about our suffering and pain. He has proven Himself faithful to console us, to turn our mourning into praise, and to give us beauty for ashes. People have said to me, “I do not know how you all have done this.” The truth is, I do not know, either. God has given us strength for each moment, and He has given us the support we needed to carry on – even with tears in our eyes and heaviness on our hearts.
To all South Carolina Baptists and many other believers who have joined hands with us and prayed for us during these days, we say thank you. We know the Lord will continue to work His purposes in the days to come and give us hope in Him. As His Word says in 1 Corinthians 15: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (55-58).
Our prayer is that God will work through us to establish us and help us to abound in His work in the days to come.