Chaplain's-Family
Navy Chaplain Paul Schumann, center, stands with his wife Emily and their sons next to the casket of their son and brother Isaiah who died in an accident, following the funeral service on March 23, 2023. Photo by Nell Aburto, Minnesota Funeral Photography, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Trent Toone, Church News
Latter-day Saint and Navy Chaplain Paul Schumann was walking home from the grocery store with his 2-year-old son, Isaiah, and 9-year-old Benjamin on March 10. Isaiah was in a stroller and Benjamin on a scooter.
While crossing the street, Paul noticed a truck driving towards them. He tried to shout but realized it was no use. The truck continued in their direction.
As Schumann lunged out of the street and pulled the stroller, Isaiah fell out and was run over by the truck.
The driver never stopped. He hit a sign, straddled the median and was later found at home.
Schumann picked up his son and held him close. Someone called 9-1-1.
Chaplain's-Family
Left, brothers Benjamin, Isaiah and Josiah Schumann. Isaiah died tragically on March 11, 2023, when he was hit by a truck. Photo provided by the Schumann family, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.In that heartbreaking moment, Schumann said he felt a heavenly prompting.
“I felt an impression that I needed to trust God,” he said.
How Schumann and his family coped with their son’s tragic death and found the hope and courage to carry on was the subject of Schumann’s remarks at the Chaplain Training Seminar of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 2.
The Schumann’s story was the inspiration behind the seminar’s 2023 theme, “The God of All Comfort,” taken from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
Sources of Comfort
On the ambulance ride to the hospital, Schumann administered a blessing to his son. The first impression he received was that Isaiah was “going home” to heaven.
After Isaiah was transported to a second hospital, the doctors informed the Schumanns that their son would not survive. Life support was turned off and the couple sat on a couch, where they held their son and said their farewells. Isaiah died March 11, 2023. The walk to their car without their son was one of the most empty, desolate walks Schumann has ever taken.
Chaplain's-Family
The Paul and Emily Schumann family stand outside the Washington D.C. Temple. Photo provided by the Schumann family, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Schumann is still grieving and dealing with feelings of guilt and inadequacy, but told the chaplains the Lord has compensated with several sources of comfort and peace.
“The weeks and months that followed have been difficult, but they have been filled with God’s comfort,” he said.
Spending time inside the Richmond Virginia Temple has provided a “tremendous” source of comfort for Schumann, who feels closest to his son when he is sitting in the celestial room.
“It is a glimpse of home,” Schumann said. “When your immediate family spans both sides of the veil, your perspective shifts.”
Schumann said attending Church services to partake of the sacrament and reading the scriptures have also brought comfort to his soul.
“The scriptures are an ongoing source of comfort,” he said. “They feed my soul and open my heart to the comfort God provides. They help me remember that I am not alone in experiencing pain and sorrow in life.”
Family has been an “unending” source of comfort. “They are a sign of God’s grace and mercy,” he said.
Schumann also spoke of the outpouring of love, support and prayers from friends, neighbors and members of their Latter-day Saint ward in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and beyond. He also acknowledged the valuable assistance of compassionate counselors.
“They are God’s hands in care and comfort,” he said.
A Mother’s Reflections
There were many miracles during the ordeal of their son’s death, as well as in the weeks and months that followed, Emily Schumann, Isaiah’s mother, said in a separate interview with the Church News.
“The Lord has been very present through all of this, especially at ground zero,” she said. “I really felt His presence strongly.”
Their bishop, an anesthesiologist, and another friend, were on call in the trauma unit that night and helped treat their son when he arrived. The bishop later took the couple’s other two kids home for the night so Paul and Emily could remain at the hospital.
Their ward Relief Society president, who is also a retired fire chief, heard about the accident and hustled to be with them at the hospital. “To have her with me for almost three hours ... when doctors confirmed Isaiah would not survive ... was a huge blessing,” Emily said.
Chaplain's-Family
Left, Emily Schumann, whose son Isaiah died in a tragic accident, greets a friend before the funeral service in Logan, Utah, in March 2023. Photo by Nell Aburto, Minnesota Funeral Photography, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Other ward members rushed to their side to assist with various needs. Others volunteered in a variety of ways so they could hold the funeral and bury their son in Logan, Utah.
“We felt we were being tended to by family,” Emily said. “We can’t overstate the service that people have rendered us. They truly have been mourning with us.”
What Emily has learned is that the Lord prepares and provides.
“He put us in a place where we would get the support we needed to get us through this time,” she said. “The Lord descended below all so that He can be with us in the darkest moments, and He experienced much worse than what we are experiencing. This is the worst thing I have ever experienced. It’s very lonely and dark, and sometimes I don’t think I can live with it. But having that reassurance that I am not alone, that He is there, that gives me strength to keep going.”
6 Lessons From Isaiah
During his presentation at the Chaplain Training Seminar, Paul Schumann shared six lessons from his son Isaiah’s life.
- Embrace the chaos.
- Love unconditionally.
- Include the little people.
- See the beauty in imperfection.
- God hears all prayers.
- Trust in God’s eternal covenant.
“I marveled at my son, God’s little emissary, who has taught me to embrace the chaos, to love unconditionally, to include the little people, to see the beauty in imperfection, that God hears all prayers and to trust God’s eternal covenant,” Schumann said.
Chaplain's-Family
Navy Chaplain Paul Schumann speaks at the Church’s Chaplain Training Seminar in the Conference Center Theater on Monday, October 2, 2023. Photo by Trent Toone, courtesy of Church News.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.Following Christ’s Example
One of Schumann’s key points for enduring life’s trials centered on the Savior, whose suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross could not be avoided.
“Instead of trying to eliminate all suffering, we must find meaning in the suffering that cannot be alleviated. This path of acceptance and submission is the path to hope and healing,” he said.
“When we submit willingly to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us, we become Saints through the Atonement of Christ the Lord and thus find hope and healing. We must be willing to let go, and at times, embrace the chaos of life. God is at the helm. He will see us through.
“I’m grateful for a God who comforts us in our time of need,” Schumann continued. “God lives and because he lives, I know my son lives. I testify that Jesus Christ made this possible through his eternal gift, and this brings abiding comfort to my soul.”