In the last week I have been surrounded with children and life….
I can still hear their voices, see their smiles, remember the conversations….
I have many pictures to remind me and it all brings me a feeling of happiness.
Tonight, I find myself wondering more about those who are grieving and struggling.
I posted a comment on my friends page as they honor the two-year anniversary of her husband’s death. I wonder how you do that with four little kids who miss their Daddy….
I know three people sorting out a new diagnosis of Cancer and others who are facing daily he effects of a disease that ravages the body and spirit in a sometimes cruel way. I wonder what they will need from the community that surrounds them. I envision faces of those close to me who struggle with substance abuse and drug addiction….I wonder how we do as individuals, neighborhoods and Churches when those around us find their worlds crumbling?
I know others who are waiting on information from medical tests and treatment plans. Those who wonder with each phone call or dread the drive to the doctor because the last visit changed life as they knew it….
I know of those who were aware that death was near and yet the absence of their loved one seems like a void that they will never get used to….
I find that I can feel irritable by the heat or discouraged by the scale or unsure of what tomorrow holds….but then I remind myself of how much I do have… I make a decision to choose to be grateful for all I have. I don’t want to forget how blessed I am. And if my life changed drastically tomorrow, I would likely understand this song at an even greater level….
My heart goes out to many whom I care for and love….
May you feel the embrace of God in the arms of His people!
I leave you with the lyrics of a beautiful song heard often on the radio these days. Laura Story: Blessings
We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It’s not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
