Seeing Suffering Through God’s Eyes

Someone once said, “The hardest thing that I’ve ever heard was that my child died. The hardest thing that I’ve ever done is live every day since.”

Levi and Jennie Lusko are the founders and lead pastors of Fresh Life Church, a multi-site ministry located in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and Utah. In December of 2012, five days before Christmas, they were enjoying a weekly date-night while a relative watched their children. When the Luskos arrived to pick up their children, five-year-old Lenya was having a severe asthma attack. Her inhaler proved ineffective, and in moments, she stopped breathing and her heart stopped.

Levi immediately began CPR while Jennie called 911. Paramedics raced Lenya to the hospital. Despite the Luskos’ desperate prayers, Lenya’s heart never restarted, and she died in Levi’s arms.

Reconciling God’s love when you lose a loved one can be difficult. God is love, but we misunderstand our relationship with Him when we expect our lives to be free of suffering. The Lord’s peace isn’t found in predictable comfort, but in a deepening relationship with Christ, a journey that often descends into dark valleys of loss and sorrow.

Levi and Jennie Lusko are with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Seeing Suffering Through God’s Eyes,” to share their powerful story of loss after the heartbreaking death of their daughter and to explain how they clung to their faith and to each other through their grief.

Through their pain, they learned not to lose heart in their suffering, and to find hope in God’s eternal plan and purpose rather than succumbing to the darkness they endured in the here and now.

Listen on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.

And if you’re struggling with loss, I encourage you to reach out to a trusted Christian friend, a pastor, or a counselor in your area. Or reach out to Focus on the Family. We have caring Christian counselors on staff, and it would be their privilege to offer you a free consultation. Call us, leave your name and number, and they’ll get back with you as soon as possible. The number during business hours is 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Levi and Jennie Lusko have each written a book that documents much of their story. Through the Eyes of a Lion: Facing Incredible Pain, Finding Incredible Power was written by Levi. And The Fight to Flourish: Engaging in the Struggle to Cultivate the Life You were Born to Live was written by Jennie. Either is available through our ministry for a gift of any amount. Visit our website for more information.