July 19, 2018

Focus on Jesus

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. – James 1:12

Some seasons of life are just hard. It might be a wayward child, a divorce, a job loss, an unexpected illness. It could be a wreck, a fire, a season of unexpected bills. It could be the death of someone you love. The storm crashes against us again and again and, some days, our faith seems so weak.

It’s not about whether you will face a storm. We all do. It’s about whether you have prepared your heart for its inevitability.

The Bible tells us to grow our roots deep in faith so that we can withstand life’s trials. Some take heed and do just that. Others merely skate along, with a naïve certainty that they can handle anything. They believe that really bad things only happen to others. They assume a strength that has never been tested.

Until it happens. Then you learn that waiting room chairs are hard and the hours endless while a loved one fights for her life in ICU. You learn the treasure of friends who just let you cry without trying to “fix” what only God can repair. You learn the difference between a necessity and a need. You learn the miracle of small steps forward, an extended hand, friends who show up and help without being asked.

And you learn empathy and grace. You learn that you can do everything right and still have your world fall apart without notice. You learn that nothing on this earth is certain and that our only true anchor is Christ.

You come to understand the camaraderie of strangers bound together by crisis. You learn medical terms and rehab techniques and how to find and accept specialized help. And you learn that pride has no place when you are in desperate need of a kind word or a flicker of hope.

There is no place as lonely as an ICU waiting room in the middle of the night. There is no place as lonely as the first moments, the first hours, in a house void of someone who will never come home again. There is no place as lonely as the days of transition between what was and what now is.

You learn the blessing of presence that some gift so generously. You learn the blessing of faith as long-ago memorized verses come to mind. You learn the truth that fertilized hope will carry you when the darkness threatens to overwhelm you.

You persevere, taking one step and then another, because you really have no choice. People say you are strong but the truth isn’t so pretty. There is nothing to do but go forward because life doesn’t pause for broken hearts, destroyed lives, shattered dreams.

You focus your eyes on Jesus, your anchor in what seems to be the never-ending storm. The world tells you to move on, to forget, to get over the past. Your heart wishes it was that easy. You take another step toward Jesus, toward His patience and compassion.

And one day your heart feels a little lighter. Your grief remains. What was will never be again. But you feel His Presence in a way you never felt before. You smile up at Jesus and take another step toward home.

March 28, 2018

How Deep Is Your Faith?

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. – Jeremiah 17:7-8

For every nonbeliever who gets cancer, God allows a believer to get cancer too so that the world can see the difference. I read that recently and it really made me pause and think for a moment. Does our faith truly make us different or does calamity sink us in its stormy seas?

There’s one thing certain about this life: There are peaks and valleys, good times and bad. That’s the ebb and flow of it. We aren’t created to live always on the mountain top. Indeed, it is in the valley where we learn the most about God and about ourselves.

A dear friend is battling cancer right now. She’s completed chemo and surgery and has just started radiation. She did everything right. She always got checkups when she was supposed to. She was vigilant. Cancer didn’t care.

Her faith is strong, probably stronger now than ever before. She’s been a believer for longer than she can remember. But she’d lost that fire inside. Do you know what I mean? She wasn’t hungry anymore for God’s word. It was just too easy to sleep late, to fill her moments with life and laughter. Until one day it all came crashing down in a diagnosis no one was expecting.

God holds us up in times like that. He’s the first One we cry out to when we realize the storm could be the end. And He’s always there. He never has something better to do, never leaves us to face the crisis alone, never demands that we right our lives before He’ll help us. There’s a lesson there for all of us.

This sweet woman has mostly been a pillar of strength. In those moments when life has seemed so fragile and the fight so long, God has sent friends to strengthen her for the journey. Fear is a horrendous companion. Scars remind us of the battle that has changed us forever. The pain seems never-ending. His love remains.

God never said we wouldn’t have trials. In fact, Jesus told us to expect them. So why are we so surprised when the storm hits?

I have reached the age when Bible verse memorization is labored and hard. Yet, I know it is necessary. Because when the pain threatens to overwhelm a shattered heart, it’s the words of God that sooth. The time to grow our roots, to water our souls with prayer and study, is while we are on the mountain top. It’s when our souls are flourishing and our days are filled with light that our roots grow deep into the soil.

Darkness has a way of coming when we least expect it. It’s imperative to have deep roots before it hits. How we weather the season of dismay is directly tied to how we have prepared for the storm. Don’t wait until the storm hits to plant roots deep enough to stand firm.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

True Faith Grows Deep

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” -- Luke 8:15

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. -- Psalm 1:3a

Her roots grow deep. She has weathered many a storm in her life. That’s natural for a widow who has passed her 80^th birthday. But to lose four friends in four days would be overwhelming for anyone.

Yet her faith stands strong. She speaks of rejoicing that her friends have gone home, that they are no longer trapped in bodies that didn’t function too well anymore. She reminds us that cancer ravages the spirit as well as the body. She speaks of hope and good times.

And, still, she grieves. Her card-playing friend, with whom she and others shared many joyful afternoons, has gone home. I saw her faithfulness as his cancer was diagnosed and his spirit fell into depression. She and others took food several days a week and continued to bring laughter, and card playing, into his life for as long as he was able.

I saw how she prayed and checked on the wife of another friend, as he lay unresponsive in a hospital bed. She spoke of the need for a living will so that spouses and children aren’t faced with agonizing decisions in the final days and moments of our time here on earth.

She shows us all how to live our faith in the midst of tragedy. In times of great grief, it is normal to question God. We don’t understand, especially, when it comes again and again and again and again. Surely it is too much. Unless, of course, your roots grow deep down in the soil.

Jesus spoke of this when He taught the parable of the four soils. The first seeds fell on the ground and were quickly eaten by birds. Then seeds fell on rocky places. The seeds sprouted quickly but didn’t last long. Because the soil was shallow, when the sun came up the plants were scorched and withered and died.

Other seeds fell among thorns, which choked the plants. The last seeds fell on good soil, where they grew and produced much fruit. Why? Because their roots grew deep and they could weather any storm life through at them.

My friend is like that good soil. Life has thrown tragedy at her time and again, yet she still calls herself blessed. Her health, her ability to live alone, being financially comfortable, her friends and family. She counts her blessings. A lesson for us all.

This dear woman teaches us so much by her actions, by her words, by her deep faith.