December 1, 2018

Only God Understands

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

– Psalm 91:14-15

We never know when trouble will slam into us, knocking the very breath from us and sending us onto a path we never expected to take. We cling to God because He is the only One who can carry us through to safety.

Yesterday a dear friend went in for what was supposed to be a routine procedure. The doctors found something and now she faces major surgery on Monday. What?! It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Another sweet friend tripped and fell earlier in the week. She’s got a broken shoulder and a husband who was already facing surgery of his own. Their plans didn’t matter in that moment of disaster.

The father of another friend was admitted into rehab yesterday. It’s the best place for him, though her mother is beyond distraught. He fell again, this time with breaks, and he needs strength if he’s to continue to stay at home. It’s an impossible situation. My friend just had surgery earlier in the week. She can’t carry the load and, yet, she must.

My heart aches for them all. I know how quickly life can turn, how a normal day can end in the ER. I understand the tears that come when you’re doing what you must but it’s hurting the people you love the most. Tough times. Tough decisions. You are overwhelmed.

God knows. God understands. God will carry you through the storm.

We can walk beside the people we love and help in so many ways. We can bring food, offer to drive or sit with someone. We can certainly pray. We can send cards or buy groceries. There are just so many ways to help. But we can’t truly know what they’re suffering. Only God truly understands.

We think we know. We’ve gone through tough times. Some of us have spent endless hours in hospitals and rehab, coordinating home health and doctors and dressing wounds and dispensing medicine. And we do know. Except we don’t. Because every journey is different. Every person is different. Only God truly understands.

Life happens, as they say. It’s filled with peaks and valleys and just long, hard days in between. Lean on God. Trust Him. Don’t expect to have the strength to make it through on your own. You don’t and you won’t. But He does. When the days are long and your shattered heart can’t take another step, He will carry you. I promise. God truly does understand.

April 8, 2016

God Remains Faithful

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. -- Deuteronomy 7:9

A dear friend said something last year that still resonates with me. It’s simple truth has helped me cope with things I never, ever expected.

Her words: When all this is over, you’ll find you can count the number of people you can depend on with the fingers of one hand. At the time, I thought she was exaggerating. Hindsight revealed she was totally right.

She’d been there. It was a different set of circumstances but she understood the devastation of sudden illness and the crushing role of sole caretaker.

Knowing all this has helped me accept the limitations of others. There are those that I knew I could count on in a crisis. I was wrong. They were the ones who showed up once. That was it. They did their duty.

I’m not talking about acquaintances here. I’m talking about close family and friends. People who were just too caught up in their own lives to be drawn into the crisis happening in someone else’s life. It was a hard lesson to learn at a particularly difficult time in my life.

Have you ever been let down by people you thought you could count on? It hurts, doesn’t it? People are not dependable. God is. Always.

I really thought my faith ran deep. I suppose compared to some others it did. But now these roots run even deeper. Storms have a way of doing that. I understand better how important it is to prepare for bad times while you are in good times because when the storm hits it takes everything you have just to hang on.

Sometimes I couldn’t focus on anything, but my mind would repeat memorized verses. I was comforted to know that when the only words I could find were “Oh, God!” , the Holy Spirit stepped in and asked God for what I didn’t know I needed.

God is faithful and loving. He never leaves us alone to face the storm. We know that. As believers, we do know that. But knowing it and living it are two different things. I am eternally grateful for His love and Presence when I needed Him most.