Tag: eternity

God Really Is Eternally Faithful

Seven years ago today, Joshua went out for a run. Something he had done hundreds of times. Only this time, he didn’t come back home to us. Despite the best efforts of two ICU nurses, firefighters, paramedics, and speciality doctors at Children’s Hospital, three days later, we said, “See you later,” and sent him to Heaven.

I have learned so many lessons in the last seven years, with the greatest one being that grief stands for God Really Is Eternally Faithful. I wish that I could tell you that I came up with that. I didn’t. I was desperately trying to turn the word grief into an acronym. I needed to associate it with something more comforting, something that I could cling to. I was texting a friend, sharing my thoughts with her, but nothing fit, when she replied with the above message. It is a simple phrase with so much truth.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Not only does scripture tell us that God is faithful, we have so many examples of His faithfulness, yet we often don’t fully understand the extent of that faithfulness until we experience it for ourselves. I have experienced it over and over the last seven years. God has been so faithful to us as we have walked a painful journey. 

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

In the beginning, the weight of grief is all-consuming. It took every ounce of energy to simply get out of bed and get dressed. God was faithful during those times. Some days He provided through friends and family, some days He provided with an extra measure of strength. I have learned that even though I will always carry the weight of grief, it has become a much lighter burden. 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

For the last seven years, God has walked every step with us. He has caught every tear we have shed. He has felt every stabbing pain of sadness. And, while grief can be very lonely, I have learned that I am never alone. God is always with me. 

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20

Since Joshua moved away to Heaven, I am more focused on eternity. I have a treasure stored up in Heaven, and one day we will be reunited. I sing “This world is not my home, I am just passing through,” with a completely different mindset. 

In the early days of my grief, I couldn’t see any possible way that God could bring anything good out of our tragedy. I didn’t see any possible way that He could heal the ache in my heart. He did both. If you are struggling to see how God is working in your life, ask Him to open your eyes to His goodness so you can see all that He is doing. And ask Him to open your heart to trust Him to take care of you.

There are so many other things that I have learned about grief. There is no timeline for it. We each grieve differently and for different periods of time. Grief has changed me. I am not the same woman that I was when I woke up the morning of October 29, 2013. I know that I will think about Joshua every single day. I know that I will miss him every single day until I see him again. I know that I could live another 30 or 40 years and face more loss and heartache. I also know that God Really Is Eternally Faithful, and regardless of what happens on this earth, He will be with me each step of the way. 

Grace, Grace, God’s Grace

I have been seeing quite a few Facebook posts lately that begin with, “If you voted for _____, go ahead and unfriend me.” or “If you believe ______, I don’t know how you can call yourself a Christian and you should just unfollow me.” 

What follows are often harsh and demeaning categorizations of people based on one choice. I wonder if we were to find out that a friend had made that choice, would we be able to so easily say those words to her face? 

This categorization of people has created a society that is divisive and given satan quite a bit of ammunition. So, since it appears that many are drawing some lines in the sand, I want to share my stance as well. 

To all of my friends who are maskers – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you have done your research and educated yourself on the mask issue and are making the absolute best decision for your family. I don’t believe that you are a blind follower or that you are leading us towards the loss of our constitutional rights.

To all of my friends who are not maskers – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you have done your research and educated yourself on the mask issue and are making the absolute best decision for your family. I don’t believe that you are selfish, unloving or lacking compassion for others. 

To all of my friends who vote Democrat – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you have done your research and educated yourself about each of the candidates in order to vote for the person who will lead our country and make the best decisions for our people.

To all of my friends who vote Republican – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you have done your research and educated yourself about each of the candidates in order to vote for the person who will lead our country and make the best decisions for our people.

To all of my friends who vote Libertarian – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you have done your research and educated yourself about each of the candidates in order to vote for the person who will lead our country and make the best decisions for our people.

To all of my friends who are actively supporting Black Lives Matter – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you are striving to make our world a better place for everyone.

To all of my friends who are actively supporting All Lives Matter – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you are striving to make our world a better place for everyone.

To all of my friends who are against reopening schools – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that the safety of the staff and students is important to you.

To all of my friends who are ready to reopen schools – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that the safety of the staff and students is important to you.

To all of my friends who have chosen to keep silent on social media – I adore you. I believe with all of my heart that you are educating yourself and making the best decisions for you and your family. I don’t believe that your silence is anything more than a preference to not engage in a war that has no winners.

Despite what I am reading on social media, none of the above mentioned issues are salvation issues. I can be a Christian who wears a mask or a Christian who doesn’t. I can be a Christian who votes Democrat or Republican. I can be a Christian and support Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter. I can be a Christian and be opposed to reopening schools or for the reopening of schools. None of these are salvation issues. 

We have lost sight of the eternal perspective.

First and foremost, I am a Christian. All of the other decisions I make are based on scripture and honoring God. All of the above groups or organizations are imperfect because they all involve humans. Each group or organization is going to have people in their ranks that make mistakes. Because they are human. 

None of the above is a Christian based organization. Each of the above listed groups does include Christians who are desperately trying to honor God with their choices. While I may make a different choice, I will not judge their Christianity based on their choices. Because none of the above listed issues will have any effect on my salvation.

Instead, I choose grace. 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Our Savior became flesh and came to this earth. He sat with His disciples around a table just hours before He was betrayed. The very man who betrayed Him sat among them. Judas sat at the table and ate too. Christ showed grace.

If Christ could sit at a table with a man who chose to betray Him and send Him to the cross, I can show grace to those around me whose choices are different from mine. I can believe that their experiences, their circumstances are different from mine and have led them to a different choice. 

I have chosen to follow Christ. I have chosen to take Him on in baptism. I have chosen to deny self and live for Him.

To my Christian friends – I adore you. I depend on you to hold me accountable when my words and actions do not line up with my faith.

To my friends who choose not to follow Christ – I adore you. I depend on you to hold me accountable when my words and actions do not line up with my faith.

I beg you, before you click that button to post something, think about what you are posting. Is it encouraging or does it categorize? Is it uplifting or is it belittling? Even if you don’t agree with the choice that someone else has made, can you believe that they are truly doing the best they can with their circumstances and their experiences. Can we be more like Christ and show grace?

Hope

Hope. It’s such a simple word, yet carries a mountain of emotions. The slightest bit can help anyone turn the page on a difficult season and start a new chapter with exciting possibilities.

We met with our While We’re Waiting Support Group this week. One of the things we talked about is the hope we have of seeing our children again. Hope can be a little harder to grasp on to this time of the year. Everyday is tough. Holidays are a little more so. Everyone talks about the joy of the season. Stores are dressed in bright colors and playing festive songs. Everywhere we look are pictures of happy families gathering together to celebrate. 

It can be painful to those who are missing an important part of their family; those who aren’t able to feel the same joy as everyone around them.

How do we find hope when our hearts are hurting?

Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

When I first read this verse, I thought, “I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want to minimize the pain of those who are hurting.” Yet the more I read that passage, the more hope I feel. While Paul isn’t specifically speaking about grief in this chapter of Romans, I think the message applies. The hurt, the pain, the sadness, the hole in our hearts will be nothing compared to the glory of Heaven. It hurts right now. It will hurt tomorrow. In some form, we will ache for those we have lost for the rest of our lives. 

The difference is the hope we cling to as the grief hits us.

If we continue reading, verse 24 says. “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?”

We don’t hope for the things that we already have. However, we enjoy what we have while we hope for what is to come. 

My favorite part of this chapter and the premise behind While We’re Waiting is in verse 25.. “But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

Eagerly.

That doesn’t mean we put on a happy face and fake it through all of the holiday celebrations. It doesn’t mean that we accept every invitation to attend every event. It doesn’t even mean that we continue every single tradition from past holidays.

After losing someone special, life is hard. The hope of what is to come should help us do more than just muddle through the days. It should give us a reason to yearn for eternity. To give it our all while we are here, knowing that God has something amazing waiting for us. 

The home that we have in Heaven is beyond anything our minds can fathom. I believe once we lay eyes on our Savior and the glory of eternity is revealed, the heartbreak, the pain, the difficulties of this earth, will all be forgotten. For what we are facing right now is nothing compared to the joy that is coming.