If we met for coffee and I stopped to explain the last four weeks of my life, you would probably tell me I was lying or worse. But the absolute truth is, life is not always easy and bright. Ask my wife.
It began with someone committing fraud on our home equity line. When you have an older house like we do, you have to have an open line of credit to immediately be able to recover from unexpected breakages and such. Someone on the other side of the country wrote checks totaling over $30K on this account- and it is an account that had no checks associated with it. We had to go into our credit union, close all of our accounts and reopen them with new numbers. This meant chasing down companies we did business with and giving them new card numbers and such.
Exactly one week later, my wife and I were in a car accident. A bad one. We ended up in the emergency room, being scanned, and sent home very sore, tired, and discouraged. But we were thankful the cars air bags did their job, sparing my wife's life. Thank God! We were hit so hard that the car was not worth repairing, so off we went to buy another. Even under the best of circumstances, I hated buying cars and dealing with insurance companies. The other driver hit us at 45MPH after running a very, very red light. Thankfully, we had a witness and we also had the whole thing on video as our city's water department truck was right next to us, catching the entire debacle on film. A good friend of ours owns a deanship, so he selected a good car for us and personally drove it to our home the next day. We did end up buying the car after a week of testing it out. We praise God for taking care of us this way.
While we were dealing with the bank issue and now the insurance companies and looking for a new car, my wife's mother died. If you've lost a parent or an in-law parent, you know the combination of grief and hard work this brings, not only in planning everything but in dealing with grieving children and siblings. Again, we're thankful she loved Jesus. We do not doubt she is in Heaven with him. But the loss is immense.
About a week after her mother's death, my wonderful wife was having lower stomach / digestive pains and contacted a physician. The unfortunate diagnosis was diverticulitis as confirmed by scans. Meds were prescribed, and it looked like she was on the road to recovery. However this diagnosis ended up being incorrect. Her appendix burst instead, leaving her in the hospital for almost 4 full days. The doctors were hesitant to let is go to her Mom's memorial service in California due to the risk. Knowing she would need a daily drip antibiotic for the next six weeks, we asked for alternatives so we go leave and be with the rest of our extended family to celebrate her life. All our kids and grandkids were joining us. It would also probably be the last time that all my wife's sibling would be together. They are as spread out in the States as is possible, from Mississippi to Alaska, Los Angeles to Colorado to Seattle. Thank God the docs had mercy on us and figured out a way we could bring the medicine with us. It was to our great advantage to have a paramedic son-in-law and a nurse daughter-in-law to join us for the services.
Some in the faith community of Christians might tell us we don't have enough faith. Or they may believe God always prospers His children. I find it more in line with the Bible that everyone suffers, the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). I also see that Jesus says there will be suffering in this life: "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). And certainly, our Lord Jesus Christ knew suffering, persecution, and hardship. To die on a cross to pain for the sins of man, he chose to follow the will of God the Father. (Easter is about his triumph over death.)
I also know that suffering is used to mature us (Hebrews 5:8). I can tell you this season certainly makes me think of my mortality and what I really value! This I know- I've got a long way to go.
So, I'm tired, a bit discouraged, and yet I'm thankful. I've got to press into Jesus because He has proven himself faithful over and over again as the only giver of hope, the one who truly gives me strength, and the one who has called my by his name.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Praise be to God in all things! Not that the events we endure are good, but He always is.
(Top photo by Jarod Garrett.)
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