The Years Give as Much as They Take

The Years Give as Much as They Take

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Last month, I celebrated a birthday. I always anticipate my birthday far enough in advance that when it arrives, it doesn’t feel like such a big deal. Turning thirty wrecked me, but forty and fifty, not so much. I’m discovering age is not what it seems from a distance and what you see in the mirror may not reflect what you feel inside (cue George Strait singing “Troubadour”).

Because the births of our eight children spread across nineteen years, we still have children at home, whereas my mother had been an empty nester for at least fifteen years at my age. This is a sobering age… my mother passed away when she was three months younger than I am now.

I’m keenly aware that time is a gift I shouldn’t squander.

And I have to keep reminding myself of that… when my children want to use my age against me, as if it’s something I could control or deny. When my hormones go haywire and the number on the scale hurtles head first in the wrong direction. Or when I just want to scream, “This isn’t what I signed up for!”

Though my body is changing, in my mind I’m the same person as I’ve always been, just viewing the world through hopefully wiser eyes.

Last year our youngest daughter graduated from our homeschool, which in essence was a graduation for me too. After thirty years as a homeschooling mom, I’ve shed the guilt about pursuing my own interests. For years, I spent spring Saturdays (and many weeknights) watching my children’s track meets or ball games—and loved it! But at this moment, instead of sitting on cold bleachers or racing back and forth between shot put, discus, and the track, trying not to miss any of my children’s events, I’m in my PJs writing at 8:30 in the morning on the first Saturday of spring. It’s pretty glorious.

My time is mostly my own, and I’m using it in ways that wouldn’t have been possible or practical before.

Our children are older and independent and therefore don’t require as much oversight or chauffeuring, so my husband and I have more free time to reconnect in this sweet season of life. For years, we used part of our Sunday evening date nights to plan how we’d tackle that week’s activities. Now we spend more time at the movies, binge-watching Netflix, or just sitting in the same room reading. Every night is a potential date night.

In addition to more freedom with my time in this second half of life, I realize that with time comes experience. I can speak to women about things I’ve studied (like essential oils from a biblical perspective) and things I’ve experienced (like marriage and friendships that have endured for decades). After teaching my children and students in our Classical Conversations program subjects I love, like literature and art history, I can lead tutor training to equip others to do the same. I can empathize with a woman who’s miscarried a child, relate to the mom of a troubled teen, and reassure the woman whose child says she hates her that someday their relationship can not only heal but flourish.

For the first time, I’m writing fiction. I thought it would be fun to invent imaginary people and places after writing two research-heavy nonfiction books (and it is!). Yet it’s my own, personal experience and life lessons that have helped me develop the characters in my book. Years of writing for you lovely (in)courage readers have trained me to take a story and dig down to its deeper meaning. Those are my favorite passages to read in fiction (the ones I highlight or underline on my Kindle) and they’re satisfying to write too.

The passage of time creates opportunities to share what we know, equip others, and explore new things, even as it takes away our ability, need, or desire for other things. (My body won’t let me play softball like I did in high school (oh, how I miss it), but I can enjoy sharing tips with my daughter’s boyfriend who is playing for the first time in a league with fellow firefighters.)

The Lord wants us to learn from our experiences so we can teach and comfort others the way He has taught and consoled us over the years.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-6 ESV

The next time you’re overwhelmed by your current circumstances, spend time with a woman who’s been there and can give you her long-range perspective.

And the next time you worry you’re getting older and are no longer able (or no longer have) to do the things you used to, appreciate the depth of your knowledge and experience and look for ways to share the things you’ve learned — and God’s grace and mercy — with others.

 

Listen to today’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts!

 

 

Hope For When Life Doesn’t Add Up

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You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.
He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
Genesis 50:20 NLT

As I dumped the puzzle pieces on the table, I challenged our pre-teen daughter to sort and assemble the 100-piece puzzle without the box top picture.

With purpose stirred, she started, then stopped. Started, then stopped. What should have been an easy task, resulted in mounted frustration due to her lack of clarity.

“Mom, I can’t begin to put this puzzle together. It’s way too hard, and I need some kind of a guide.”

I let those words stew a bit before I responded.

“It’s hard to attempt something so confusing without guidance, isn’t it?” I questioned. “Putting together a puzzle without the picture is like us trying to fix life’s problems without considering God’s blueprint for our life. Our relationships, our friendships, and our families are all pieces of God’s master puzzle, but it’s critical we use the Bible as our box top to best navigate those difficult times. Often His picture takes time to unfold. We want to give up. The waiting is a challenge. So when it feels too hard, we need to just work on a few ‘pieces’ at a time. ”

While this simple, teachable moment was meant for our daughter, conviction hit home.

Life gets messy and the waiting hurts.

Often I rush ahead without seeking God first because I’m quick to attempt fixes on my own. I get frustrated when I don’t know how His plan will unfold, yet I don’t take the time to seek out His master box top.

My mind raced to Joseph and his brothers: the utter betrayal at the hands of those he loved most. How Joseph must have questioned God’s purpose during his waiting time in slavery and wondered how these seemingly horrible pieces could ever fit together for good.

Instead of harboring bitterness, Joseph believed in the sovereignty of God’s plan, even though he didn’t know the final outcome.

Often, God’s plan doesn’t come together on our timetable. We can’t pull back the veil and see the full extent of God’s work in our lives because His beautiful picture has not been revealed.

Yet one truth we cling to: God’s purpose and plan for us is good because God is good. All the time, God is good.

Are there puzzle pieces in your life that don’t seem to fit God’s perfect plan?

Work one piece at a time, cling to His goodness, and rest in His sovereignty.

Today’s devotion is by Jen Schmidt and originally appeared here on (in)courage.

 

With Only His Voice, Jesus Whispers Peace Over the Storm

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The Mediterranean Sea and the horizon blend in a blurry line, as if God took his finger and smudged the paint across the width of the paper. The moon is still visible from the beach this morning, full and round. The air is cool and the water is calm.

The night before, I dreamed I was lost at sea. The sky and water were both black, and the rumblings of an ominous storm brewed above. Drenched, cold, and left alone, I waited and waited, my feet frantically treading in the deep, dark water. I wondered how I had gotten there and if I’d ever be rescued.

The moon is slowly fading into the sky now as the sun rises. In a little while, my daughter will come running down the wooden boardwalk, wearing her favorite Minnie Mouse swimsuit and a white sun hat. My husband will be walking behind her while pushing a stroller overflowing with beach towels and floaties. He’ll challenge her to a race to the water’s edge, and they’ll both shout and sprint across the sand.

I’m drawn to the ocean’s power, mystery, and beauty but also frightened by those same reasons.

In my early twenties, I had no idea of the journey God would have in store for me in the years to come. I was beckoned into unfamiliar waves — across an actual ocean — and into a foreign country, holding nothing but a one-way ticket. This cross-cultural move was supposed to be an adventurous placeholder while I figured out what I really wanted to do with my life. But then I met a cute and funny boy, and we got married and started a family here. Days stretched into months and now years as my family waits for the necessary visas and paperwork to be processed and approved so the three of us can move to my home country.

Braided with homesickness and all the moments I’ve missed out on is the uncertainty of my family’s future. The longing for a life beyond here floats just out of reach like tiny boats on the horizon. Unanswered prayers for hope, healing, and things to be made right slosh and crash around me in the small hours of the night.

A few hundred miles south of where we play by the shore, there once was a group of experienced fishermen who set sail with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. A violent storm suddenly arose, threatening to capsize their boat. The disciples panicked as the once-calm waters became turbulent and the waves crashed around them.

During the raging storm, Jesus remained asleep, seemingly undisturbed by what was happening. The disciples, desperate and terrified, woke Him up and pled for help. “Teacher,” they cried, “do you not care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38 NIV). 

Coming up from the stern, Jesus calmly rebuked the wind and water, commanding them to be still. At the sound of His voice, the storm immediately dissolved, the waves receded, and the wind quieted.

When treading deep waters in the middle of a storm, things can quickly turn to look dark and uncertain. The churning waves of grief, illness, betrayal, or brokenness can threaten to pull us under. My prayer in this long, turbulent season of feeling lost at sea sounds a lot like the disciples: Hey, Jesus, I’m drowning out here. Do you not care?

I watch my husband float in the water while my daughter and I fill plastic buckets with wet sand on the beach. The waves lap lazily against our outstretched legs, and the sun beams on our shoulders. I savor the gentleness of a morning that has yet to hold the stress and uncertainty of life and all that’s in it.

I know the deep waters of unfulfilled dreams don’t feel like a fun day at the beach. The swirling waves of broken relationships don’t feel like a morning of building sand castles. The raging storms of unanswered prayers don’t feel like a leisurely swim in the salty sea.

Jesus, do you not care?

I wish I had been given a tidier story, one with calm waters and warm breezes. But my family continues to endure the choppy waters of uncertainty, rowing toward a foggy and unknown future. The storm is still raging, and the boat keeps swaying. 

Jesus knew the storm was coming before he and the disciples got on the boat that day. He knew how they would react to the sudden storm. And yet, He went with them. 

Likewise, the Son of God knows what rogue waves life will throw our way. He knows how our faith will feel like a trembling flicker in the middle of a hurricane. But Jesus, who climbs into the boat and sits down next to us, is sovereign and in control. With only His voice, Jesus whispers peace over the storm.

I pray for my faith to be like a lighthouse, firmly rooted in solid ground and illuminating the path ahead. I will keep going through the storm, knowing I’m not alone . . . because I’m anchored by the One who cares.

 

If at First You Don’t Succeed, When Should You Try, Try Again?

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Maybe the fourth time would be a charm. I sure hoped so. Even though I was determined, I wasn’t sure I could take another disappointment. Was this the God-given “desire of my heart” spoken of in Psalm 37, or simply me pursuing something I wanted in my own strength?

I had been feeling a tug to return to a traditional nine-to-five job for a while. Now that my children were grown, my world had become too quiet. I craved more structure, interaction, and variety than weekly Bible study, volunteering, and church could provide. I also felt called to move beyond my comfortable Christian bubble.

It all felt so very “Prayer of Jabez.” Are you familiar? Years ago, Bruce Wilkenson popularized the Old Testament prayer found in 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV) in his little book The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life:

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!”

The verse ends by revealing how God answered Jabez’s audacious prayer: “So God granted him what he requested.”

Would God grant me what I requested? While all of the prayer’s petitions were relevant, the idea of “enlarging my territory” stood out. I longed to live out the gospel by serving others in meaningful ways.

I wanted to go back to work.

Friends and family thought I was crazy to give up the freedom and flexibility I enjoyed as a writer. Most of them had retirement on their minds, not launching a new career. Even my husband didn’t fully understand, thinking my desire was more about filling time and getting out of the house than God calling me to something different.

I listened to them and questioned myself. Would anyone see the value of a 50-something woman who hadn’t worked in a traditional job in decades? How do you communicate everything you do as a writer – content creation, speaking, marketing, networking – on a simple resume? Would my previous part-time marketing roles showcase my true drive and entrepreneurial spirit enough? Would my leadership qualities required in women’s ministry and volunteerism count for anything in today’s market?

Because I knew the application process was a breeding ground for self-doubt, I started reminding myself of my identity in Christ. I’ve learned that when life gets hard, it’s important to remember who you are because of who Jesus is and what He has done and will do.

As daughters of God, we are

We should never forget God is always and only for us, but there’s an enemy who’s always and only against us. (Romans 8:31)

Shored up spiritually, I updated my resume and started slinging spaghetti at the wall. Since the last full-time job I held – and absolutely loved – was at a retirement community, that was my target. Never mind it was 28 years ago.

To my surprise, the first application was a swing and a hit. The hiring manager and I had a great connection, and I got an offer. The money was great. But the work/life balance was awful. I cried before turning it down.

On my second attempt, I dropped off my resume in person, thinking it would demonstrate initiative and impress the marketing director. I thought wrong. Following an awkward conversation, I received an email rejection three days later.

I cried again.

The third job at a fancy new community got me really excited. A phone interview led to several in-person interviews. I was certain the job was mine…until days with no offer turned into weeks. When I finally got the call, they had chosen the other remaining candidate.

I cried yet again.

My children were in the loop, and I think they hurt more than me when things didn’t work out. I had always taught them, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” and here was a chance for me to demonstrate that very lesson.

I believed God had given me this desire, so I had to keep trying. If we can trust God with open doors, we can trust the ones that close.

Months later, the place I had applied to in person and received a swift rejection, re-posted the same position. Among all the communities I had considered, it was my first choice. I applied again. This time, I was invited to interview.

Driving onto their campus, feeling more vulnerable than ever, I prayed. If this strong and specific desire wasn’t of the Lord, I begged Him to take it away.

The short of an already-long (but amazing) God-story is this: I got the job!

Over the past three years, I’ve encountered the most wonderful people and helped dozens of seniors understand their options and make hard but important decisions that serve them well.

Like Jabez, God blessed me and granted what I requested (I’m convinced He gave me the desire in the first place).

When have you experienced a strong desire despite opposition or failure? What might God want you to know about who you are in Him? (Go back and read my short list of how God sees you as His daughter — or open your Bible and find His love for you all over Scripture.)

Talk to God about your desires. And perhaps it’s time to try, try again.

 

Listen to today’s devotion below or on your favorite podcast app!

 

You Are Made for This

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I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14 ESV

Let’s pray together: Lord, thank You so much for my children. They were fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank You for creating them to be unique, just as You planned. Thank You for giving me the wonderful honor to be their mother. Help me to raise them to live out their God-given purpose and follow You as their Lord and Savior. Amen.

It wasn’t until my middle daughter started to talk that I saw how unique and different she was from my son. My first son is shyer and reserved, a thinker, whereas my daughter is the life of the party and very social. We’ve yet to see how our third will turn out — he may be a fun mix of both. As each of my children grows, I see so many great ways God made them and how unique they are, how different from each other.

Mama, we must celebrate and cultivate each of our children’s unique gifts — and why God made them to be who they are! Let’s not push them into things they aren’t meant to do, but instead, let’s grow their character in the name of the Lord.

What’s even more wonderful is seeing characteristics in your children that came from you or their dad, or maybe even a grandparent or two too! As we appreciate our children, let’s not compare them to each other by considering one better than another, but instead realize how wonderful it is that they were created by the One Most High. As you navigate your child’s unique qualities, stay in prayer for them. The prayer at the beginning of this devotion can be used as often as you’d like, and feel free to add to it too!

Mama, sit back and think of each of your children . . . what makes them, them? As they grow, do you see how they’ve changed or stayed the same? Can you pick out the unique talents or gifts God gave them or that have been worked on through school, sports, or work? Their uniqueness should be celebrated as we let them be who God created them to be. Maybe, Mama, you’re already seeing that play out in the jobs they have today or the things in which they’re interested. Let them follow their own path as it leads to the greater purpose in life God has for them!

—

You Are Made for This, by Melissa Horvath, is a devotional to encourage moms to reaffirm both their role and identity in Christ.

Everyone needs a mother, but mothers don’t always feel needed, wanted, or confident in their role. Raising children is filled with ups, downs, and obligations, and while moms are centrally important to their family’s well-being, they can often neglect their own, which can lead to insecurity and self-doubt. This devotional is designed to empower and encourage busy mothers, reminding them of their value, God’s provision, and the divine purpose that is already being fulfilled in their lives, even when it feels like they’re living in chaos or stuck in the daily grind.

This devotional is a heartfelt companion for every mother, a source of inspiration and encouragement on the busiest of days and the most challenging of nights. It’s a powerful reminder that God’s purpose for your children – and for you – is so much bigger than any momentary struggle. And it’s an assurance that perfection is never the expectation, that there’s no room for mom guilt, and that God will never abandon you. He sees you, and His love for you is unwavering.

Join author, business owner, and mom of three Melissa Horvath on this transformative journey and discover that you, indeed, are made for this.

We know You Are Made for This: Devotions to Uplift and Encourage Busy Moms will be a blessing in your life or the life of someone you love.

Order your copy today . . . and leave a comment below for a chance to WIN a copy*!

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Then join Becky Keife this weekend on the (in)courage podcast for a conversation with Melissa. Don’t miss it!

 

Listen to today’s devotion at the player below or wherever you stream podcasts.

 

*Giveaway open until 4/14/24 at 11:59 pm central to US addresses only.

The Blessing of Showing Up Anyways

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It didn’t matter how happy that YouTube exercise influencer sounded, I wasn’t motivated to do that workout. I looked down the hallway at my bed and wondered if it was still warm under my bedcovers. Still, I laced up my shoes and waited for the music to begin. Like a robot, I mechanically swung my arms as directed. My feet shuffled to the beat. My thoughts, however, continued to march to a completely different drummer. A steady mental cadence tapped demotivating thoughts. Quit-Now. Warm-bed.  No-one-will-ever-know. The pull to quit was so strong. But, I knew that I would feel better when I was done.

Motivation is a fickle thing. A funny thing, too. Like, why don’t I need motivation to eat ice cream? My favorite ice cream stand opened a few weeks before Spring officially started. I did not need any positive self-talk to convince myself to drive 20 minutes across town to stand in line (in my winter coat) to order an ice cream sundae. On the flip side, I own a 128-ounce water jug with positive reinforcement messages on the side like “you can do it,” “keep going,” and “stick with it.” I need water to stay alive… but apparently, that isn’t enough for me to want to drink it.

Here’s what I’ve noticed in my life:

Often, some of my most memorable blessings happen when I’m unmotivated to do something, but I do it anyways. Is this true for you? Have you reluctantly agreed to go to a conference, a meeting, or even a Bible study, and there was that moment when you heard, saw, or felt something that made a meaningful impact on your day or life? There’s something about doing it anyways…

Last week, I woke up on Sunday morning with an unusual heaviness in my heart. I didn’t want to go to church, but I forced my feet over the edge of the bed and fumbled my way to getting dressed. As I walked into church, a little mental drumbeat tapped Turn-around. Just-leave. No-one-will-ever-know.  Still, I wedged myself past a few people into a row and sank into an empty seat. A sigh escaped. Welp, God, I’m here.

I didn’t have anything to offer God that day other than my warm body sitting in that seat.

Forgive me for saying this, but that church service did not change my life. It didn’t. But, being present did shift something inside of me. Listening to worship, receiving God’s Word, and then feeling the love and energy of God’s people changed my attitude. By the time I left, my thoughts were in a better place.

Funny how I didn’t want to be there, but God blessed me anyways.

In John 1, Jesus invites strangers to become His disciples with the invitation to “come and see.” He didn’t require them to get it together or even fix their attitudes. Jesus’s invitation wasn’t based on a regimented schedule of daily Bible reading plans or rituals. He simply said:

“Come and see.”
John 1:39 NLT

Later, the disciples would repeat this phrase to others. They would beckon those who were curious, but also the unsure and maybe even unmotivated, to come near to Jesus. Picture the crowds coming toward Jesus to see Him and hear from Him. They’d see Jesus’s compassion and power. They’d hear Jesus’s truth and hope. No one was required to get themselves together before they showed up.

For so long, God’s people tried to find salvation in the scrolls of Scripture, but Jesus was the Savior they’d been looking for all along. Religious rituals could never reach into the hearts of people in the way the life-transforming presence of the living, breathing Emmanuel in front of them could. When the people came to see Jesus, the lost, hurting, tired, and broken were met with love from heaven that healed them from the inside out.

Jesus’s invitation to come and see is alive and well for you today.

“Come and see” is for the hurting, reluctant, exhausted (and even the religiously exhausted). If you’re tired of empty religion or fake Christians, Jesus wants you to experience what the pastor Eugene Peterson calls Jesus’s “unforced rhythms of grace.”

In the presence of Jesus, we stop striving for spiritual perfectionism and we savor His way of grace.

Is today your invitation to come and see, even if you don’t want to? Whether it’s tapping open your Bible app, stopping to pray, going back to your small group, or even saying “yes” to that women’s event, even if you don’t want to, come and see anyways.

Give God an opportunity to bless you.

 

Listen to today’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts.

 

Do You Know Your Worth?

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I was sitting across the table from my daughter as we had pizza with my brother and his family. She is the oldest of the cousins and the only girl. I noticed at one point that both my nephews, who were sitting on either side of her, started to punch my daughter. They are 3 and 5 years of age, so they were just play-fighting with her. But something inside of me became annoyed and a little angry. I spoke up and told the boys to treat their cousin with kindness and to keep their hands to themselves. They listened and obeyed.

On our way home from that lunch, my daughter and I had a long conversation about the incident. I asked her why she allowed her little cousins to hit her. She responded, “It’s ok, they are little. They don’t know and it didn’t really hurt.” I told her that she was just making excuses for their negative behavior and that if she welcomed this behavior today, next time it could hurt. I continued educating her that it is her job to speak up for her body.

My daughter is a typical oldest child, a rule follower, and a people pleaser, so seeing that this incident upset me, she began to tear up. I took hold of her hand, squeezed it gently, and wiped the tears from her face. I reassured her that she was not in trouble.

I looked deep into her eyes and said, “You are my daughter, and I love you very much. To me, you are worth so much and I am only upset because I feel like you don’t see your true worth when you allow others to treat you like that.”

She nodded and leaned in for a hug. I cried as we held each other tight.

The Holy Spirit allowed that moment and conversation to remind me that my Heavenly Father feels the same way about me.

I am a recovering people pleaser. For most of my life, I allowed other people to gently push me around and dictate my worth. I would make excuses and ignore the punches so I could continue to sit at tables. I hid my Indian culture to fit in and make everyone else comfortable to have an illusion of belonging I desperately needed.

I would take on more than I could handle and never said “NO” because I wanted to be needed and didn’t want to disappoint anyone. I would spend hours overthinking something I said and feel horrible if I ever did speak up for myself. I made myself small to make others feel important, thinking that is what it meant to be humble and kind. I let people belittle me and I stayed in toxic environments for too long because I thought that is what Jesus would do.

I know I am not the only Jesus-loving woman who has lived this way.

Can I be honest with you? I am annoyed and a little angry to see how many of us have allowed this pattern to be our story.

It’s time to realize that it hurts the heart of God when His daughters don’t see their worth.

And if you need a reminder, read and meditate on these verses:

“And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Matthew 10:30 (NIV)

“He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love;
He will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)

“Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.”
Isaiah 43:4 (ESV)

Friend, it is time to stop settling for gentle punches and stop striving for the approval of people.

I pray that you sense God leaning in close to remind you today that you are worth so much. It is time to use your God-given voice, to rise up in the authority and position you have been given as the daughter of the King of Kings.

You are worth protecting and celebrating. 

You are delighted in because you are His.

 

Listen to today’s devotion below or on your favorite podcast player!

To Dwell in the House of the Lord Right Now

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I held her hand in mine. The sounds of the hospital hummed all around us, just outside the door of her room. I could hear the nurses and other patients, background noise that didn’t provide any additional peace. 

She had texted me early that morning asking me to come to the hospital. We had become friends more than a year earlier when she had been diagnosed with cancer. I was still new to pastoring and even though I knew I didn’t have all the answers, I knew I could show up for her. 

She had been moved into palliative care a few weeks earlier, and the doctors weren’t sure how many days she had left. Her text indicated how afraid she was feeling and asked if I’d come to pray. 

I texted her back: of course I would come pray.

I drove down to the hospital and held tight to her hand as she told me all she was afraid of. 

She was so afraid she wasn’t forgiven by God, so afraid she wasn’t going to be with Him, so afraid she didn’t deserve eternity with Jesus. At one point, I said kindly but firmly, “You don’t deserve it. Neither do I. That’s what makes Jesus so good. You and I could never earn it. We could never be good enough. But Jesus trades our sin for His righteousness. God sees us through the lens of Jesus Christ… that’s what makes the gospel so good.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I’m forgiven,” she whispered.

I had preached on Psalm 23 at our church just days earlier, focused primarily on verse six: “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

It flooded back into my mind as we talked. I began to recite it quietly. She closed her eyes and repeated the words. 

“I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” I said softly. 

“I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” she said. Her eyes were closed, her breaths were labored, but her face was filled with peace. 

We recited that line over and over and over. 

“Do you know what that means?” I said when she opened her eyes. “You’re going to be with Jesus forever.” 

“Forever,” she echoed. 

We spent a bit more time together before she needed to rest again. I gave her a tight hug and told her I loved her. 

As I left the hospital, I knew in my bones that those words were true: she would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

But I couldn’t help but wonder: is that where I spend my days too? Do I dwell with Him? More often than not, I find myself dwelling in other spaces… in anxious spaces, in fearful places, in places where my mind wanders to “what if” scenarios. 

But the promise in Psalm 23 is not only that if we follow Jesus we’ll dwell with Him forever in eternity — the promise is for now, too. 

We can dwell with the Lord forever, starting right now. We can dwell in His presence in this very moment — during a hectic workday, while throwing in another load of laundry, in the middle of singleness or marriage or motherhood. Brother Lawrence, in his tiny book, Practicing the Presence of God, believed everything we do, mighty or mundane, can serve as prayer. He was a monk who primarily spent his time washing dishes. If washing dishes in a monastery can be a place where you dwell with Jesus, then you can dwell with Jesus anywhere. 

If you follow Jesus, you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

But I think we may as well start now. 

 

Listen to today’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts.

 

Cry Out to God

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But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
 my cry to him reached his ears.
Psalm 18:6 NLT

God’s people have been a people who cry out. When the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians, they cried out for deliverance. During the reign of the judges, the people cried out when things turned for the worse. King David cried out in his depression, in anguish, and in repentance. Hannah cried out for a son, the prophets cried out for their people to turn from their own ways back to God, the bleeding woman cried out silently as she touched the hem of Jesus’s robe. And even Jesus cried out with His last breath on the cross.

We come from that line of people, and crying out together is our inheritance. We pray as our hearts ache for strained relationships, as we struggle in long seasons of darkness and sadness, as we sit in loneliness, as we work through resentment and bitterness, and as our tears stream down our faces for all the unspoken pains and longings in our hearts and in those around us.

Here at (in)courage one of our greatest privileges is turning to God together in prayer. Please leave a prayer request in the comments and then pray for the person who commented before you. Let’s experience the power of prayer as we pray for and with one another.

How can we pray for you?

Make Space in Your Soul for Hope

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Ask any Midwesterner about “fake spring” and they’ll surely have a story for you about packing away all the coats on a warm day only to have to pull the winter gear back out the next week. While I’m all for a shortened winter, I think these false-start spring days have something to teach us about the spiritual practice of living expectantly — even when we don’t feel particularly hopeful.

We brought our newborn son home from the hospital on Easter. Tucking a pastel green blanket around him and pulling a knitted cap over his head, I marveled at how much he resembled an Easter egg. After a long winter and an even longer pregnancy, it would finally be spring — the season of new life! And then, as we arrived on our doorstep, the wind howled, clouds covered the sun, and it started snowing.

My baby cried. So did I.

A couple weeks into the winter-that-wouldn’t-end, the sun reemerged and offered us an unseasonably warm day. Had we fast-forwarded over spring and gone right into summer? I knew it was too good to be true — the day before we’d been wearing puffy coats. I squeezed my postpartum body into a sundress, put the baby in his carrier, and located two matching shoes for my always-moving toddler. We were going on a walk. We were going to seize the summer day!

And seize it we did. I sat on the park bench and slipped my tired feet from my sandals, wiggling my toes in the sandbox and letting myself breathe in hope that while the beautiful forecast wouldn’t last through the week, it was also true that winter wouldn’t last forever. I watched my toddler conquer the playground, and as I felt the sun on my face, I also felt a glimmer of hope that the postpartum exhaustion wouldn’t stretch over my body and soul forever. Better days were ahead.

And then, wouldn’t you know? The very next day, it snowed.

But I’ve never minded false-start sunny days. Hope deferred is still hope. We need the small offerings of hope in our lives to remind us that just as there is darkness around us, light is near too.

From heartbreaking headlines to the everyday aches and anxieties that come with being human, we have every reminder that the world isn’t as it should be. And that’s why we have to cling to the promise of hope, even if hope itself still feels out of reach.

On that warm spring day years ago, I knew there were bound to be more cold days to come. I knew my circumstances weren’t going to suddenly change. I was in a difficult and demanding season of life that wasn’t going to improve with the changing of the natural seasons. But the warmth of the sun tethered me to the reminder that even though life didn’t feel particularly hopeful, hope was on the horizon. Someday, my baby wouldn’t be colicky. Someday, my toddler would potty train.

The expectancy of hope was enough.

Each headline feels heavier than the last these days. I find myself wondering how much pain our tender human hearts can hold. It’s in these moments that I need spiritual eyes to see glimmers of hope in hard times.

The expectancy of hope begets hope.

It’s that whisper deep in our souls that reminds us though life might not be better right now, or even in the foreseeable future, the sun will shine again someday. It’s why we’re drawn to a video of a little girl singing “Let It Go” in a bomb shelter. It’s why our hearts ache to share laughter with loved ones even as we gather to grieve the loss of another. These glimmers of hope don’t fix anything, but they keep us going.

The promise of hope begets hope.

It’s easy to close up our hearts and say hope is too far gone from a season, situation, or person. But it’s the braver choice to have the audacity to believe hope will return to our hearts even so. Even if. Even when.

In Mark 9, a man is desperate for relief for his son who is having seizures. He begs Jesus to help his child, and says, “I believe. Help me in my unbelief.” In times when hope seems lost, maybe the best we can do is get really honest with the One who knows every ache of our heart by praying this prayer: I hope. Help me in my hopelessness.

We cannot change the weather just as we cannot stop a warring world. But we can hold tight to the expectancy of hope. This is not the end. Despair does not have the final say. Cynicism won’t win. Winter won’t last forever.

Holding onto the expectancy of hope is not ignorant optimism. It’s not frilly or fanciful, but rather it sits in the pain and pushes through it. Hope is dirt under our fingernails as we plant tulip bulbs in the fall, believing that even though the days are going to get darker and colder, spring will someday come. Hope is us raking soggy leaves into piles to make way for shoots of green grass that will burst forth — maybe not tomorrow or next week or next month but someday.

The expectancy of hope is defiant. It’s a stubborn, gritty belief that even when our worlds are caving in, the groans of creation will not last forever.

We can come to Jesus with our most honest of prayers: I don’t have hope right now. But with Your help, I have hope that someday, I will have hope again.

Making space in our souls for hope even when nothing seems hopeful doesn’t ignore the seasons of winter in our lives or the very real suffering in our world but believes the truth that suffering does not have the final say.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

 

This article originally appeared on (in)courage here.

How to Hold On to Hope When You Just Can’t Anymore

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I didn’t expect to lose the will to live. That was something for quitters, those who were chronically negative or weak. From my earliest memories, I’ve always been a fighter. Determined, optimistic, stubborn to a fault. Quitting wasn’t an option.

Until it seemed the only option I had left.

It took twenty years of consecutive, unrelenting losses for me to finally lose my will to fight. Betrayal, divorce, single motherhood. Remarriage, step-parenting, and adolescent parenting, followed by fostering and parenting three kids from severe trauma. Then came the three cancer diagnoses in the span of five years — bam, bam, and BAM. And in the middle of that I buried my dad after his thirteen-month war against terminal pancreatic cancer.

And those were just the “big” losses. There were other struggles that were less sensational but no less painful. Like a Weeble Wobble, I’d always been able to bounce back from a challenge. But after the third cancer diagnosis — the one that left me with a permanent disability and in chronic pain — I lost my bounce. Instead, I wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again. Any hope I’d once had was gone.

There’s a verse in Romans 5 that talks about the power of hope:

And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us (vv. 3-5 NASB).

And hope does not disappoint, the God-inspired Scripture says.

And yet I remember reading those words and immediately feeling a surge of resistance. And white-hot anger.

That’s not true! I wanted to scream. Hope does disappoint!

I’d prayed for relief and deliverance for so many years. And yet, in spite of my bent knees and dogged hope, the only answer it seemed I’d receive was more suffering. More loss. More grief and tears. Disappointment was an ocean, and I was drowning in it. I battled to keep my faith afloat, to believe in a good and loving and powerful God. And yet that belief only seemed to leave me weary and desperate for rescue.

Where was the God of hope? Where was the one who said He loved me and would always be with me? Didn’t my relentless grief confirm His absence — or at least His disregard?

Somewhere in the midst of those hard years, I went to the mailbox and found a gift parcel. I didn’t recognize the return address. Inside was a short letter from a total stranger along with an olive wood cross small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. In the following months and years, I found myself holding on to that cross and rubbing its smooth surface when the worst of the losses threatened to take me under. Something about its tangible presence brought comfort.

Then, during Easter one year, I finally understood why. Although I’d long celebrated Jesus’s resurrection, it was Jesus’s suffering that gave me hope.

Jesus knew what it was like to endure pain and loss. He knew what it was like to ask God for relief and deliverance and not receive it. For so much of my faith journey, I’d viewed Easter through the joy of Jesus’s resurrection. But now I saw it through the eyes of His suffering and crucifixion. Jesus knew both physical pain and spiritual agony. He felt the seeming distance of the Father, who didn’t intervene and spare Him the cross.

And yet Jesus didn’t lose hope.

Why?

Because His hope wasn’t in an outcome. His hope was in a Person.

Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
Psalm 119:49-50 (NIV)

Your promise preserves my life, the psalmist wrote. Not God’s promise of happily ever after. Not God’s promise of physical healing or a perfect family or pain-free existence.

But God’s promise of Himself.

Jesus is God’s promise fulfilled, divine presence in human flesh. And heaven — the hope of an eternal, pain-free promised land — is the final piece of that promise, when I will live in the hope-filling presence of my Father God forever.

It’s now been almost six years since that season of suffering nearly took me under. I’ve had more hard days than I can count. Life continues to have unexpected circumstances and painful losses. Sure, I have plenty of good days too, and I celebrate those. But life remains hard for so many of us.

Still, as I look at my olive wood cross, more worn than it was six years ago, I remind myself again and again:

If I place my hope in an outcome — a prayer I want answered or a healing I want delivered — I will end up disappointed. “You will have suffering in this world,” Jesus says (John 16:33). That’s the bad news in no uncertain terms. None of us will escape the pain of the human condition. It’s part of the deal.

However, Jesus didn’t end with the bad news. “But take heart! I have overcome the world,” He promises (John 16:33).

Jesus — the flesh-and-blood presence of God Himself — is our good news. He is our hope, our answered prayer to all prayers. And if our hope rests in Him alone, we will not be disappointed. Our hope is as sure as His resurrection, our eternity as perfect as His promise. One way or the other, my friends, the best is yet to come.

This story was written by Michele Cushatt, and published in the Create in Me a Heart of Hope Bible Study.

Create in Me a Heart of Hope is an (in)courage Bible study, written by Mary Carver and featuring stories from your favorite (in)courage writers! The first in a series of four studies, Heart of Hope looks at how God offers us hope — real, certain, unshakable hope. We believe that looking at where that hope comes from and what it looks like in our lives will help us understand first, what hope is, and second, the difference it makes. It will allow God to create in us a heart of hope. Create in Me a Heart of Hope is now available wherever books are sold. Order your copy today!

And as we journey through April, the National Month of Hope, take a moment to explore these favorite resources from DaySpring that will help you live and share a confident hope in Jesus.

 

Listen to today’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts!

The Real Treasure

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One of my favorite stories Jesus tells us about the kingdom of heaven is found in Matthew 13:44 (NIV), “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

I read the Bible like I’m watching a movie or like I’m there when it all happens. In this particular story, a man finds a treasure. In my mind, I’m right there hiding behind a tree watching everything he’s doing. I see his joy and excitement about the treasure. He looks around to make sure no one saw him — and then hides his precious discovery again. Then he runs off and sells everything he owns to buy the land the treasure is on. 

I think sometimes we forget how precious the treasure is. This man was willing to sell everything else he owned for that treasure. We don’t know what he owned. Potentially some of his things had sentimental value. His home and land could have been in his family for generations. We don’t get the luxury of knowing all the details, but we do know he considered everything he owned worthless compared to that treasure. 

My husband, Darian, and I were recently invited to a ministry celebration. It was located at a beautiful resort in Florida on the Atlantic coast. Our room was lovely. There was fine dining and luxurious accommodations. As wonderful as all of that was, it paled in comparison to the actual reason we were there. For over 36 hours, we had the privilege of hearing how people were getting the Word of God into forbidden places, including the Middle East, China, and the outermost parts of the world. People from Russia, India, Japan, and many other countries shared their stories. 

One story I will never forget is of a Hindu family in the Himalayas. One of the daughters had received The Book of Hope (a Bible in condensed form for children) and given her life to Jesus. One by one, the rest of the family followed and began serving God at their local church. The father of the family was outraged and felt betrayed. He decided he was going to burn his entire family alive. He tied them all up and just as he was about to light the fire, a man from the new church arrived at their home. He was able to stop the dad from doing such a heinous act and led him to the Lord that day. That family had found a treasure in a field and their lives were the “everything they had” and they were willing to give it up for the treasure.

By the end of the celebration, I realized I was among some of the most Spirit-led, humble, and effective people in the world. God’s presence was in that place. I cried as I heard more stories of the Lord setting people free from addictions, abuse, hardship, and oppression. I was in awe of His love, protection, and ability to reach people.

God will go to great lengths to accomplish His will. All He needs is someone who values the treasure as He does. 

The irony of staying in that fabulous resort and hearing those incredible stories hit me. None of it mattered. The only thing I could think of was Jesus and the love of God. As everything else faded, my desire to do more for Jesus increased. 

I want what I do on Earth to last for eternity. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having nice things or staying in amazing places, but possessions and vacations won’t last forever. Those things don’t make a difference in eternity. Only the things we do for the kingdom of God will last forever. Our careers, hobbies, homes, and cars will not last. They are just pieces of land we must be willing to sell for the real treasure God has for us. 

Only the things done for the Lord have any real value. Yet we like to elevate things that don’t deserve that honor. Nothing deserves the honor of our love, praise, and sacrifice except God. The Himalayan family knew this. They didn’t even consider their own lives worth more than the kingdom of heaven. 

I have a boat dock on my property that I really enjoy. It’s not my “she-shed.” It’s my she-dock. I truly love being there. It’s where I often go to write and spend time with the Lord. One day when I was down there enjoying the fresh air on my face, the reflection of the water, and the sound of the birds, I heard the Lord say to me, “This dock is wood, hay, and stubble.” I knew exactly what He meant. He was telling me to go ahead and enjoy it — it was a gift from Him. But it wouldn’t last forever. It is not the treasure He has for me.

Let’s put our focus on the real treasure, the things that last forever.

Darian and I almost canceled that trip because of some inconveniences in our life. I’m so glad we didn’t. Being in that atmosphere, in the presence of God and people who follow hard after Him, reaffirmed my priorities. I want to build with “gold, silver, and jewels,” not wood, hay, and straw. I want the things I spend my life on to have eternal value.

I love how Jesus said that the man who found the treasure hidden in a field was joyful. He wasn’t disappointed to sell all he had. He couldn’t wait to do it. This was the best day of his life. The treasure was far greater than anything else he could imagine. Nothing on earth compares to the kingdom of heaven. It truly is the greatest treasure. 

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Stay a Little Longer

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The grating sound of wood on tile reverberated in my ears as I dragged the footrest over to where I was sitting. Getting it into an acceptable position for my feet, I settled back into my faithful wingback IKEA chair. My husband and I had just discussed our need for a breakthrough from our lingering weariness. After he left for his meetings, I stayed a little longer in my chair.

The clock was ticking, as it does in my mind every morning I get the kids off to school and preschool. I had my ever-increasing to-do list to tackle, but I felt the stirring need to not move on so quickly.

I’ve often prided myself on my ability to handle a lot on my plate, but over the past year, I’ve found that my capacity has decreased.

I imagine it has to do with the different rhythms that have developed over five and half years of living on this island of Fire and Ice known as Iceland. Perhaps, the intensity of elements like constant winds, blizzards, lava eruptions, and even the months of midnight sun, have shaped me into a different type of vessel in this season. Maybe the doings on that to-do list of the past year depleted me more than I realized — or wanted to admit.

Or maybe I was just plain tired.

Maybe I didn’t need to jump so quickly into asking the Lord for a breakthrough when really what I needed was a moment to allow the Holy Spirit to take a good look through me. So I lingered in my chair, not hurrying to fill the silence saturating that sliver of margin with one more thing, no matter how small.

When was the last time I gave myself permission to just be amid the wrestle? Not automatically jumping to an outcome and a way out, but just laying myself before the Lord. Giving Him free rein to check my motives and agendas. I needed the Holy Spirit to shine a light on the places in my life that were in need of some mending. I needed Him to dig out the roots that were causing me to stumble into striving, instead of dwelling, abiding.

In that infinitesimal but eternal margin, I needed to linger and meet God.

There is a story in Scripture that has always fascinated and challenged me. We know that Moses was considered a friend of God and did incredible things out of the overflow of that relationship. Likewise, his assistant Joshua accomplished amazing feats. But what sticks with me about Joshua is not his faith or how he courageously led the defeat of Jericho.

What lingers with me is how Joshua lingered with God.

“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.”
Exodus 33:11 NIV 

Amidst what I’m sure was constant activity and the pressure of leadership, Joshua didn’t hurry away from God’s presence. He stayed in the tent, even after Moses departed, dwelling with God. I envision him resting in the shadow of ancient wings, turning his heart towards worship and wonder as he soaked up the lingering aroma of the King of the universe.

I don’t have any plans in the near future to install a tabernacle of sorts in my front yard. I’m sure that structure wouldn’t last long in these Nordic winds anyway. But thank You, Jesus, that because of shed blood and a torn veil, lingering with You is no longer about a physical place but about the position of our hearts.

In our very next breath, before the inhale, between, and after the exhale, He is here. The great I Am creating space within our moments and slivers to be with Him. Right there, where we are…

  • Placing our hands in sinks of soapy water, washing the dishes that never run dry.
  • Running to the next gathering to encourage the sphere of influence we’ve been given and pausing a moment in our cars.
  • Finding a second to breathe before the tasks of the day greet us, a certain ache in our hearts from stretching out towards what seems beyond our grasp.
  • Embracing the joy that filters in after a long night with the rising of the morning sun.
  • Facing a period of grief unspeakable, pain too piercing to bear.

Lord, help us not to rush past these moments.

You are as close as our next breath. We will linger and meet You there.

Friend, what moments will become a meeting place for you today?

 

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The Unexpected Miracle

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As a seventeen-year-old, I sat in a U.S. Customs office in Houston, Texas — my future hanging in the balance as I awaited the Border Patrol’s decision about whether I could stay in the United States. The uncertainty of the situation made me question my future and how I would move forward if forced to leave.

Living undocumented in the U.S. as a teenager was not something I would talk about or even acknowledge at the time. After all, I was a teenager still trying to process much more than my legal status. My mother’s abandonment in Canada a few years prior was still a fresh wound, and I was sorting out feelings of rejection while trying to find answers to questions like, “Why wasn’t I enough for her to stay?” My Abue (short for “Abuela” which means grandmother in Spanish) had moved in with us to help my father raise me and my brother. After a few years, my father eventually moved us back to the U.S., where he ultimately left us, too.

I spent my high school years living with Abue in Little Rock, Arkansas, and though times were tough in many ways, that didn’t matter to me because this was my family; this was all I had.

“You are being deported back to Guatemala today; say your goodbyes as we arrange for your return home to Guatemala,” the Customs Agent said. Abue fell to her knees and prayed for a miracle as soon as she understood what was said. And no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t reason with the agent to change his mind. While my Abue prayed amid heartbreak, my brother and I started saying our goodbyes. It was there, in our greatest defeat, that God stepped in. Almost immediately, another agent took me to a separate room to question me about my Canadian passport. After answering many more of their questions, the agent sent me back to the waiting room. Abue’s prayers in Spanish could still be heard, asking for a miracle and God’s will to be done.

When the agent returned, she informed me that due to my Canadian passport and citizenship, they would allow me 36 hours to leave the country, a voluntary withdrawal, to return to Canada with the possibility of reentering the U.S. in ten years. I was no longer facing deportation to Guatemala. Abue jumped off the floor, hands in the air, praising the Lord when she heard the new plan. “Solo Dios pudo hacer este milagro” (only God could do this miracle), she proclaimed in Spanish. God had answered her prayer most unconventionally. Three days later, I was boarding a plane bound for Toronto — alone.

When I share this part of my story, I think most struggle with finding the miracle and God’s goodness. And if I am completely honest, I did for many years too. I had a lot of questions for God. How was allowing me to be separated from the only family I knew a miracle? How was it good to allow a child to go to another country with no parents, no money, and no real direction for the future?

The truth is that neither Abue nor I had a plan or even the slightest idea of what still was ahead, but Abue knew that our circumstances didn’t define God’s goodness, and because of her faith, I knew He was good too.

During a recent visit to Abue’s, I came to the realization that God’s divine protection, grace, and perfect plan were present in the rejection I faced when I was forced to leave the U.S. many years ago. He was also present in the rejection by both my mother and father. Though these experiences were heartbreaking, He gifted me a story through them. I can now share about God’s love and redeeming power with others, praying they will also come to believe in Him. Despite the hardships I faced along the way, I have realized that those challenges were personal invitations from God to seek refuge in Him. As it says in Psalms,

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
Psalm 34:8 NIV

Today, I want to encourage you that no matter how impossible your situation may seem, this moment, right now, is your opportunity to seek refuge in your Heavenly Father. It’s the Lord’s personal invitation for you to “taste and see” His goodness through eyes of faith and believe with your heart that your circumstances don’t define His goodness; rather, His goodness is His character.

Remember, God is always there in your darkest hour, working miracles and making a way for you. He promises you hope and a bright future as He authors your story.

Your miracle is in the making.

 

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When You’re Not Ready & Jesus Shows Up Anyway

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“My surgery is next week,” I told the nurse as she checked me in for bloodwork. “I don’t feel ready in the least.”

I half-laughed nervously, hoping she wouldn’t think I was silly. “But is there any way to be ready for a mastectomy?”

She shook her head as she gathered the vials from the shelf and turned back to face me.

“Honey,” she declared, bright eyes flashing. “You’re having a major surgery. There’s no way to feel ready. That’s completely normal. But can I tell you something?”

My whole body exhaled with relief. For the first time in months, someone in the cold, sterile clinic was treating me like a human being.

She pulled her stool close to my chair and took both of my cold hands in her warm, soft palms. She looked me full in the face.

“You are going to be ok. But this is incredibly hard. No one talks about the emotional side. A mastectomy is an amputation. And you need to give yourself all the grace to get through.”

I nodded, ready to weep, knowing this wasn’t the time or place. But I was bone-weary after months of chemo, weeks of nausea, endless days and nights sick in bed, trying to believe all this suffering would bring healing. I just wanted to be ok — for myself, for my husband, for my kids, for my family and friends, for my church community and every blessed stranger on the internet praying for my recovery.

“Listen, darling,” the nurse continued. “Before I started working downtown, I worked in labor and delivery for twenty years, at a hospital up north. I loved every minute of that work, helping mamas and their babies. But on the same floor, we also had the post-op ward for the women who’d had mastectomies. So I got to take care of them, too. I know how all of it is so hard on women and our bodies. We don’t talk about the emotional side or spiritual side of this surgery, how it changes everything about your identity.”

From the other side of the curtain, an impatient intern interrupted: “Labs ready?”

“Not yet,” she hollered, winking at me.

She went on, holding my hands, talking me through the process of mastectomy, giving me recommendations for recovery, reminding me to say yes to every offer of help, making me promise to take it slow. I surrendered to every emotion and started to cry. She cried, too. We both laughed. She grabbed Kleenex for both of us and kept going.

“Labs ready?” Impatience kept rising in the intern’s voice, waiting to run the routine labs to the university hospital for analysis.

“Not. Yet.” Her reply was steady and unwavering. Here was a woman who knew her calling.

For half an hour, the nurse kept talking with me, coaching me through “what to expect” like I was a new mom terrified of birth. Every few minutes, the annoyed question would come from the hallway: “Labs ready?”

Without skipping a beat, she’d respond with a smile only I could see: “Not yet!”

Eventually, we did get down to business, finished the blood draw, and sent the vials off to the lab — with apologies for the delay and gratitude for their patience. But how could I begin to explain that this was the real work of healing? Seeing the hurting human in front of you, reaching out with all the compassion and courage you could muster, and setting aside the day’s schedule to make time for what matters most.

Whenever I read the healing stories from the gospels, this is the part that catches the lump in my throat: how Jesus saw straight into each person in front of Him. The bleeding woman, the sick child, the feverish mother-in-law, the blind man, the dying servant, the paralyzed friend. He always let His agenda for the day — whatever teaching or preaching He had planned — be interrupted to care for the beloved, broken child of God right in front of Him.

Ironically, this truth is hardest for me to remember on the ordinary days, when one more kid has interrupted one more conversation, when my inbox is overflowing, when the house is a mess and the to-do list is a mile long. How am I supposed to get this all done, Lord? Why don’t You just let me focus and finish what I need to do?

That’s when I hear the gentle reminder of Jesus’ words to His friend Martha when she was worked up at her own overwhelm: “There is need of only one thing” (Luke 10:42 NABRE). And that one thing is always and everywhere to see the face of Christ in the person before me, the sacred image-bearer of the divine that has shown up at my door.

Like the kind nurse who set her schedule aside when I needed her comfort, like the exasperated intern in the hall who saw my tear-stained face and realized there was a reason for our delay, I try to remember that our most important, loving actions on any given day are often when we let ourselves get interrupted by God.

We might never feel ready, but Jesus shows up anyway. What a gift when we remember that we can show up with compassion for each other, too.

 

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Our Easter Prayer

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Lord,

Thank You for the gift of HOPE
You gave us on Easter morning.
Because of You we know
That no problem is too difficult
And even death does not have power over us.

Thank You for the gift of JOY
You gave us when You were resurrected.
Because of You we know
That no matter how challenging life may be,
In the end we will rejoice again.

Thank You for the gift of LOVE
You gave us when You laid down Your life.
Because of You we know
That there is no sin too great to separate us
and we are incredibly valuable to You.

Thank You for the gift of LIFE,
You gave us when You left the tomb.
Because of Easter we know
this world is just the beginning
and we will spend forever in heaven with You.

We celebrate You, JESUS,
With hearts full of praise and gratitude
For who You are and all You’ve done for us!

Amen.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.”
Romans 15:13 NIV

This beautiful prayer was written by Holley Gerth and appeared on (in)courage here.