I have a couple of really sweet girlfriends who both live in different states than me. Every few months, Sarah in Atlanta arranges a “Go To” meeting so the three of us can see each other’s faces, and not just hear one another’s voices. We make a point of it to attend The Gospel Coalition for Women Conference together in Indianapolis every other year, and we have an incredible time of fellowship. But I missed the last one because a few days prior, I was hospitalized for my very first episode of atrial fibrillation, or more commonly known as “A-fib.” So it’s now been way too long since I’ve seen Ruth, who lives in Indianapolis. Sarah and I were able to connect a couple of times this summer when she and her hubby Mike came to Michigan. Both times we ate Lebanese food, once at my kitchen table, and once at a Lebanese restaurant in Dearborn. Lebanese food and our very own “Coalition Cookies” (recipe from Ruth) are our love language 😉 In fact, I would say our friendship revolves around Jesus, garlic sauce, Jesus, chocolate chip cookies, and Jesus – in exactly that order.
And we have a several-years-long text thread that remains ongoing. This morning’s conversation centered around the aches and pains of the 50th and 60th decade of life, and it was serious, but also sassy and fun. I love these girls. I love them so, so much. We laugh, we cry, we share podcasts, read books together, pray for one another, and we all point each other to Jesus. We can all count on each other for that, hands down.
Yep. I’m about to get all Jesus-y on ya.
Just because you’ve been a follower of Jesus for some time, whether that be for a couple of weeks or a few decades, that doesn’t mean you have all of the answers, and you do everything correctly. Ah! No! Quite the contrary! We live in community for a reason. God gives us friends for THIS reason. Make sure you surround yourself with people who… when your marriage goes south, they point you to Christ. When you’re sinning, they call you out on it, and they point you to Christ. When you’re being a brat and making selfish decisions, they don’t tell you what you want to hear, but point you to the Truth. Yep, get yourselves some of these.
I’m gonna just be really vulnerable right now, mostly because I’m not sure I’m even going to publish this.
I’ve been really down lately. Not depressed. Just really discouraged. In the past few years, I’ve been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, as well as a couple of other super annoying things as a result of that. For the first time in my life I have to take medication. I had a GI bleed and had to get some blood transfusions following an extensive knee surgery as a result of an injury. I’ve jumped ship from a couple of jobs before I landed in the one I’m enjoying now, and intend to stay at until the Lord returns or I retire. I’ve had two root canals go bad and have spent more time (and money) on my teeth than I want think about. And now, my repaired knee seems to have basically “come undone.” And the leaves are changing, and winter is coming. And, and, and…
I told my sister this morning, it seems as if I average some illness or injury every six months over the past three years, and I’m just so tired of it!
But I know that my aches, pains, inconveniences, and less than desirable circumstances pale in comparison to most people’s I come in contact with on a daily basis – like my friend who’s probably wondering how she will cope with the holiday season and one-year anniversary of the death of her 8-year-old son from neuroblastoma. Or my other friend who married the love of his life just two hours before she died. Or the people I care for who are undergoing treatment for cancer with an unknown prognosis and unsure future.
So I whined this morning. I said I was just tired of things going wrong. Just tired, that’s all. It just gets discouraging, and feels like one more thing. It makes me want to throw my arms up and ask, “What next, Lord?”
But I know better. Who am I to question Him?
We hung up, and an old song came on the radio by Casting Crowns, “I’ll Praise You in This Storm.” (Link to song below)
Sometimes, I think I get used to singing the same popular songs on the radio, and robotically move my mouth, belting out memorized words while I think about what I’ve packed for lunch, or what I’m doing after work. For me, it’s good when an old song comes on. I’m not so robotic. I’m reminded of the words, and really think about what I’m singing. So that’s what I did from Groesbeck and Utica all the way to Cornerstone Baptist Church. I belted out the words to that song because those words were just as true this morning as they were when that song was written in 2006.
The Lord understands discouragement. He does. And He knows we’re going to get discouraged, and He is not going to be mad at us, or punish us when we do. He warns us we’re going to have trouble, we’re going to be discouraged, and then He encourages us and tells us to take heart, and reminds us that He’s overcome the world!
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
So it’s good to have a Sarah and a Ruth in your life, to send truthful Scriptures back and forth to one another, songs, podcasts, videos, or to just schedule a Go To meeting so we can see each other, even if our hair is sticking out in seven different directions, our mascara is running down our cheeks, or we have no makeup on at all, and are really looking homely (that’s usually me).
Jesus promised us that we would have trouble in this life. But He also told us that He has overcome the world. We’re just passing through. We’re pilgrims, helping each other to run a good race, and helping one another to get home.
I do know that God is capable of healing all my issues and injuries. I do. But I am also realistic and know that as we age, we don’t typically get healthier. And none of us are going to arrive at the end healthy and unharmed. Do you know what scares me more than anything? Wasting an opportunity. I know I’ll get discouraged, but I also know that I have friends committed to making sure I don’t stay there in my discouragement and self pity, and that I will do the same for them when they are down. But I don’t want to waste the opportunity I have, when I have that “one more thing” happening when I can lean in and know my Savior more and more intimately, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to use those circumstances to point someone else to Christ. So I think these little storms are just practice for the bigger ones that are coming. And they are coming. So it’s got to be a knee-jerk reaction (can you tell my knee hurts right now? LOL) to just throw up our arms and praise Him and trust Him immediately when that first rain drop falls and hits us.
Everything is an opportunity. Every good thing, and every challenging or really, really difficult or yucky thing that comes our way is an opportunity. The truth is – NOTHING we go through, if we are Christ followers, is ever, ever, ever really about us. It’s about using where we are, or what we’re going through, to point everyone watching to our overcoming Savior. That’s what I want to do, but so often I fall short.
Somehow, though, the Lord saw to it that three gals in three different states would become the sweetest of friends and sisters.
I don’t know what storm you’re walking through right now, but I hope this reminds you to lift your hands and praise Him in it.
And if my granddaughter can thank God for chickens, I certainly can thank Him for garlic sauce and coalition cookies, and for Sarah & Ruth, but most of all for never, ever leaving my side in all of life’s storms, big or small. I can even thank Him for the storms, because it’s always been there that He’s felt so present, and like my friend Jim A. used to say – I wouldn’t trade that in for anything.
Well, I guess I’ll publish this after all 😉
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1-2
Leave a Reply