Grateful Grieving

Apr14

I know that’s a strange title, but it sums up how I feel about the conclusion of Lent. Ever since I saw a movie with my youth group at church years ago, I have dreaded the yearly remembrance of events that occurred during the last week of Jesus’ life on earth. The beginning, Palm Sunday, was joyful enough as crowds in Jerusalem excitedly welcomed who they thought would release them from the oppressive Roman rule. However, as the week progressed, everything became more somber and saddening.

The timeline progressed from that welcome through these events: Monday – Jesus released sacrificial animals and cleansed the temple. Tuesday – Jesus taught at the temple. Wednesday – Jesus’ disciple, Judas, betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. Thursday – Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and celebrated the Last Supper, saying that the bread and wine represented His body and blood that would be shed for them. Friday – Jesus, having been brutalized with a flesh-tearing whip, mocked and spat upon by soldiers, and crowned with a painful spiked headpiece was crucified on a cross as the world was plunged into darkness. Saturday – Jesus was sealed in a borrowed tomb. Sunday – finally good news! Jesus is resurrected and appears to Mary in the garden near the tomb.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice and my trust in Him as my Savior, I am accepted by God, even though I am a sinful person. Let’s be honest – we are all sinful, even “good people.” We so needed a Savior because we could never measure up on our own. How gracious of a good God to provide a way to bring us to Him, even though it was a traumatic process. Sin is so awful, it required an equally awful payment. So I am grateful, even though I grieve what my Jesus had to go through for me. Pause and remember this week what Jesus did for you.

God bless – Sue

Where Do You Go?

Feb26

It has been an interesting month, one filled with unexpected weather and emotional challenges. I’ve always felt that February is the month that winter weather can really hit in my corner of Virginia. I base this on two big snowfalls that occurred years apart during this part of the winter season. We’ll, 2025 has not disappointed in that respect as we received four inches of snow early in the month, and a week or so later over twelve inches! It was so beautiful as a blanket of white carpeted everything and all activities stopped for several days, except for making soup, brewing cocoa with marshmallows, and shoveling a walkway for our 15-lb dog who jumped like a rabbit through the snow in our yard.

Moving from unexpected but beautiful weather to unexpected emotional challenges in the same time period adds an additional layer to life. Hence the title of my post. In less than a month, I faced the emergency surgery with less than a 50% chance of recovery for our little 8-lb. granddog to the life-threatening illness of a sweet colleague at my Bible study. Where did I go when all these worries that came from nowhere and over which I had no control hit me one after another? I went to my knees and prayed day after day, sometimes hour after hour. Over two to three weeks, our family’s furbaby made such an amazing recovery that his vet called him a “Superstar.” I credit God and lots of medicine and physical therapy from several family members for making the difference in what had seemed like a pretty hopeless situation. I move to outright praise in the situation of my Bible study friend who had battled an illness for over five weeks. Doctors seemingly had no answers or cure as she entered the hospital twice in increasingly worse condition. As the prayers for her increased from her family, our study group, and her church members, she moved from a discussion of hospice care to waking up, recognizing her family, and communicating with others. She has a long recovery ahead of her, but praise God, we are now talking about recovery!

Where do you go when impossibly bad things happen? My trecommendation is to the only One who has the control over the answers. However, I have to be real here. I could be sharing the story of a dog who didn’t recover or a friend whose funeral I had to attend. When we go to Him, we have no more control over the situation than we had before, but we give the bad thing to God Who has control over everything. If the answer is not what we hoped, we accept that He knows better than we do what is best, realizing that He will always be with us in the good times and bad, as was promised in Hebrew 13:5.

God bless – Sue

A January To Remember

Feb1

We’ve only had 31 days in the new year so far, and I’m exhausted. Based on what has happened in January – California wildfires, Presidential inauguration and cabinet confirmation hearings coverage with two-sided opinions continuing to divide us on social media, significant once-in-a-generation snowfall in the southern United States, tragic airline/helicopter crash in DC followed soon after by the heartbreaking loss of a medical flight in Philadelphia with widespread fires in the surrounding area – I’m afraid to turn on news programs. Do I dare welcome February?

I doubt that I’m the only one feeling this way. So what do we do when each day brings difficult news or personal struggles? I can only speak for myself, but I get up and continue to trust that God is allowing troubling events and situations for a purpose. I don’t have to understand to trust Him. That’s where faith comes in to strengthen my resolve and help to cast out doubts. I don’t know how well I’d cope without this faith that leads to trust. I am reminded of the Bible verse in Hebrews 12:6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Since I do seek Him and try to live my life in the way He tells me to in the Bible, I must trust Him and know that He is in control of all things.

So February, I do welcome you, with all the uncertainties that accompany a new month because I trust in the One that has given me today. He will provide what I need to make it through another day, week, and month. I hope this encourages you to trust as well, because we overcome difficult times in life through Him.

God bless – Sue

2025 – Not What I Expected

Jan11

What about you? Is this new year starting off like you thought it would?The news from California is awful; the pictures, heartbreaking. Then came the reports of too little response, not enough water, and lack of leadership. Total devastation for so many is mind boggling, not to mention maddening. I’m having trouble processing the amount of loss. Lives lost, and so many lifetimes of possessions and memories gone, burned beyond recognition.

Unlike the tragic loss from hurricanes several months ago, with North Carolina survivors still struggling to survive in winter weather, the scenes from California seem Armageddon-like. Santa Ana winds plus drought-like conditions occurring simultaneously, transformed mere sparks into roaring infernos. How do you recover from a tragedy like this? Will the magnitude of loss drive the insurance industry out of business? So many questions.

My prayers are with the survivors of this latest tragedy. It’s not the time to judge their lifestyle, wealth, political orientation, or laws. So many people have lost everything. God loves them and is waiting for them to turn to Him in their time of need. In the Bible God says that He can restore what has been lost through personal repentance and trust in Him. That’s my focus now – praying for God to comfort those who need Him so desperately as they learn to lean on Him day by day. Please join me.

God bless – Sue

Your Hourglass

Jan1

Congratulations! We’ve made it to another year – 2025 is officially here. Each of our hourglasses are full, but even now the time is sifting through.

We each have a choice as to how we will use the time given to us in this new year. Will we be energetic or lazy, achieving or lackadaisical, helpful or self-serving?

One of my perpetual calendars has this encouragement for January 1st: “I asked the man at the gate of the year, ‘Give me a light that I may go forth into the unknown.’ And the man replied, ‘Put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light, safer than a known way.'” (Taken from a New Year’s message of Great Britain’s King George at the beginning of WWII. Credit to Heartland Samplers, Inc.)

I can’t improve on the king’s advice. Everyday is a new opportunity to do the right thing, make a difference, or just make it through a challenging experience. With God’s help and leading, we will take the right steps and make the better decisions. I wish you a blessed year, day by day and month by month.

Sue