October 24, 2018
You know when you are in church and realize the message was handpicked by God just for you? That happened this Sunday. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Background first. Last Wednesday, we had a rough day. My husband had driven to the hospital and stayed up all night with his dad. He wanted to give his mom a night at home to rest but that meant he got night duty two hours away from us. It was a tough night. His dad isn’t able to walk since the stroke and his speech is extremely strained, practically non- existent. It’s gut wrenching for my husband to see. To witness the fall of his giant. His dad is his hero and seeing him suffer and in pain has broken his heart. Mine too. He got home from the hospital and we sent the kids upstairs while we set down and had a heart to heart. He was emotional and broken. As he tried to dry the tears, my four year old son came down stairs with a picture he had drawn. He ran straight to my husband, jumped into his arms and said, “you are the best daddy in the whole world.” It was a God-breathed Jesus moment. It was exactly what my husband needed and it was so cyclical of our life situation: How as one son grieves his dad another dreams of becoming more like him. It was beautiful and unplanned and perfect. Back to church. This message from James was never one I took to easily. I mean who can see joy in times of hurt and brokenness and heartache. But my sweet pastors wife said it perfectly. She said this verse reminds her of “putting feet to her faith.” It takes us out of spiritual cruise control and forces us to walk out the promises we so readily spout and recite without ever really living them. It incites intentionality. I’ve sought out reminders of my blessings and taken the time to seek out His love for me in the smallest of moments so much more often in this valley than I ever have done on the mountaintop. I’ve seen the joy in the trials. And as I set down in Sunday School and saw these verses in a new light, I thanked Jesus for His intimate knowledge of exactly what we need when we need it. And the ways He blesses us even in the darkest of days and lowest of lows.
xoxo,
The Girls of Charley’s
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