It is just a reminder, if you are one of the many dear people I have heavy on my heart right now who are just. not. sure. what. God. is. doing.
Just not sure what in the world you are going to do.
This simple, trusting thought had never occurred to me. Not sure it had ever occurred to Mom.
But suddenly, it became the family motto. Through chemo, through transplants, through ports and blood counts, moves and maladies, it was often the ONLY truth we clung to.
God was in it. God was with us. He hadn't brought us this far to abandon us now.
Looking back, I suppose it would have been easy upon her sudden and unexpected death the same day her second transplant successfully took to reject the truth altogether. Apparently He HAD abandoned us now. Apparently He was taking "us" no further.
But by His grace, the thought never occurred to me. We simply continued with the motto. God hasn't brought us this far to abandon us now. The truth we had stepped out upon optimistically at the beginning of mom's battle with cancer had settled into unconditional truth.
Today, I can see so clearly how true it is. He DIDN'T abandon us then, nor did He abandon mom. He drew us close, and drew her close, too.
I could take you through a thousand trials since then He has persevered through and as I struggle with the heartbreak and uncertainty of others, I've got nothing to say but the same thing, which is a truth I've staked my life on and the only one that makes any difference.
God hasn't brought you this far--in your marriage, with your kids, with your finances, in your relationships, with your illness, in your job, in your loss, in your journey--to abandon you now.
So take courage. Choose joy. He is with you, is in control, and while we might have NO idea what He is doing, we know this: He Isn't. Going. Anywhere.
My BF Elisa took both these pictures this past week in Washington!
Ha thanks for the shout out :) AND good post. Always worth reminding....
ReplyDeleteLove you!
I read this twice this morning already Stace! I needed that reminder today, so thank you! Can't wait to spend some time with you when things settle down!!
ReplyDeleteLove you!
Molly
Stacey, thanks for this post. But also, thanks for sharing that time/experience with me & the rest of our community group all those years ago. The motto reached beyond your family to me too. Here's a memory that I don't think I've ever shared with you: Because our covenant group prayed so much with/for you in the months before, your mom's passing made me question a lot of the things I thought or had heard about faithful prayer. Like the (false) idea that prayer is some kind of spiritual superpower allowing Christians to "move God's hand." Gradually God taught me that prayer is more about participating with what he is doing that getting him to do what I want or think is best. Your faithfulness to God at that time - and your family's motto - helped me to push in to know God better when those doubts came flooding in, instead of questioning his existence/goodness/care. So thanks, both for then and for now. :)
ReplyDeleteJoy, THANK YOU for taking the time to share this with me...so valued today. thank you.
DeleteWhat a great reminder of God's love for us! Perfect timing for this reminder, thank you!
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