Sometimes as humans we may feel like our life is a mess, or we might feel alone, or maybe we’ve let opportunities slip by or made mistakes that we regret, maybe we feel that circumstances are just too much to bear. Times are hard for a lot of people right now and sometimes life just gets us down and there doesn’t seem to be much hope…but there is hope!
This is an especially touching event in the life of Jesus and one of his dear friends. It warms my heart to read about how Jesus (God’s only Son) lived on this earth in a human body just like ours and experienced the same things we experience such as love and grief. He had a dear friend named Lazarus who had two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus loved this family very much, like we love good friends who are like family to us. Well, Lazarus died and the Bible tells us that Jesus cried with Mary and others.
When a friend of mine died from cancer leaving behind a three year old daughter and two sons, the oldest son being 13 and the age of our daughter at the time, it was really sad. She and I would have our best visits during swimming lessons for our kids, and I really missed her. Jesus understood my grief and sadness because he lost a friend, as told to us in the Bible in the book of John, chapter 11:
2Mary went to where Jesus was. Then as soon as she saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw that Mary and the people with her were crying, he was terribly upset 34and asked, “Where have you put his body?”
They replied, “Lord, come and you will see.”
35Jesus started crying, 36and the people said, “See how much he loved Lazarus.
Note: Scripture from BibleGateway.com using the Contemporary English Version (usually I use the NIV Version)
This is not the end of the story! When Jesus went to the place where Lazarus was buried, Martha told Jesus that Lazarus had been dead for four days and his body had started to smell. Jesus told Martha, “Didn’t I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?” And so Jesus called to Lazarus, and Lazarus walked out of the burial cave with the burial strips of cloth still on his body. Maybe some of the people there were freaking out, we don’t know. But those who had faith knew the power of God.
The people at that event in history definitely saw the glory of God! And what does this mean for us today? Jesus sympathizes with us when someone we love dies. He’s been there! He knows the sorrow and the pain of losing someone dear. It also means that we live in a world where God is in control. And even though he is the creator of the world and whole universe and everything in existence, He is also the God who loves us and cares about each one of us when we experience sorrow or sadness. Jesus told Martha, “…if you have faith,” and if we have faith then we will see God working in our lives!
Jenny’s very last update:
“Jenny Bizaillion (age 31) passed from this world at 3:38pm today.
According to those who knew her, she was a beautiful, wonderful friend, perfect mom, devoted sister, loyal daughter, and best wife a person could ever have.
From the Bible: Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
P.S.
I didn’t know Jenny personally (although I read so much in her blog and felt like I knew her) but I knew her mom who touched my heart the very first time I heard her speak. We had been going through an enormous financial loss back in 2008, and when I listened to Beverly speak in January 2009 about how God binds our wounds, it was like medicine to my wounded spirit. I had no idea until the following month the extreme loss we had experienced (my husband had shielded me from that as long as he could). And Beverly had no idea the ultimate loss she would encounter the following month, the unexpected death of a child. My loss is nothing compared to her loss, but it is my loss and a loss to me. We both needed God to bind our wounds! And He has!!
A few of you may know about Jenny, a 31 year old wife and mother who is fighting for her life right now. People literally all over the world are praying this week. On a Facebook site set up for her, “Praying for Jenny Bizaillion,” there are over 6,600 members to date who are praying for her as well as thousands of others.
Jenny entered the hospital 17 days ago, having been misdiagnosed with the flu which was really strep. It quickly became Sepsis, a bacterial infection spread throughout her whole body. She has not only been battling for her life, her legs had to be amputated below the knees four days ago, and now Sepsis bacteria has entered her brain causing her to have seizures the past couple of days.
Throughout all of this, her family is staying close by and keeping their faith with the knowledge that “God is mighty to save.” The only reason that Jenny has lived and made it this far is because of God answering the many prayers on her behalf. Just a couple of days after being in the hospital, a doctor admitted he didn’t know why Jenny had improved but to “keep doing what you’re doing!” In other words…pray! Many of the prayers on her Facebook site, including mine, mention that through all of this, the glory goes to God! God is the one who has brought Jenny this far, and whatever the outcome He will still be glorified!
Lori, from A Cowboy’s Wife, writes about “The Hole in My Heart,” and shares about a friend who just had a miscarriage and about her own four miscarriages. It was an emotionally painful experience to lose a baby!
There are some things that always remain in a mother’s heart, and one of those things is the love she has for her child. Whether losing an unborn baby, a young child, or an adult son or daughter, the love a mother has for her child is so strong and will never die. (“Love never dies,” 1 Corinthians 13: 8, The Message version)
My mother had at least one miscarriage before I was born. She passed away and I can’t ask her if she had more than one miscarriage, and her younger brother and sister don’t remember. (My uncle said those were things you just didn’t talk about back then.) I remember dreaming about having an older brother when I was young. Oh, how I wished I had a brother or sister!
After my mother passed away and I was going through her purse, I found some papers in a zippered compartment. One of those papers was a receipt for a D&C after a miscarriage seven years before I was born. That was for her miscarriage of a child dear to her, and she must have carried that receipt with her, hidden in her purse, all the rest of her living days because her love for that unborn child never died! I realized then that yes, I did have a brother or sister. I believe that life starts at conception (go to Biblegateway.com, type in Psalm 139:13-18, choose your favorite version…maybe “The Message” or the “New International Version,” then “Search the Bible”) so I did have a sibling and maybe it was a brother.
I have several friends who have have lost adult children, and I can’t imagine the pain they have gone through. But I do know that God is the God of all comfort, and He has comforted them in the way that only He can. Their faith in God has gotten them through!
Maybe you’ve lost a baby or a child or someone close to you has experienced that loss. If you have something you would like to share, please leave a comment. Your experience might help someone who is going through a hard time right now.
It was such a blessing to be with family during the holidays. Our son was home from college, and we had a great time being together.
We have many blessings! We’re so thankful for both of our children, son-in-law, grandbabies, my mother-in-law, and our friends. God has blessed us and is taking care of my husband and I through our job search. My most precious blessing, though, is my relationship with God. Jesus is not only my Savior, he is my best friend!
1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
(Biblegateway.com)
September 11 Memorial Video Tribute
Please join me and pray for all of those who lost family and friends on that horrible day! Say a prayer for our country, too!
This is the view out of my kitchen window. My curtains look dark, but they actually match the cream color of the blooms on the Crepe Myrtle tree just outside the window. Every day when I’m standing at the sink, I see this pretty view. Years ago when we first moved to this house, all I could see out this window were a lot of rooftops and the very tops of a few small trees. Time really does make a difference.
When thinking about the concept of “time,” there are some verses in the Bible that I like to think about. In fact, these verses are in a popular song by the Byrds called “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
This is in response to Lori’s “Finding Faith” post. I was going to leave a comment but then realized it would end up being a long comment and it was actually something I would like to share with my readers. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. I took digital pictures of photos I already had, but hey, it works. Well, here goes:
This happened back in 2001 on a Saturday morning. My husband was gone for the morning, and it was just our son and me at home. He wanted to go next door and see the neighbor boy. The weather report said that a storm was heading our way but it sounded like it would be 30 minutes before it got to our house, so I said OK. He opened the front door and then came back inside. Then we heard the tornado sirens going off. Minutes later, we heard someone knocking at our back door. It was a neighbor who informed me that our two gigantic trees had blown over and completely obstructed the sidewalk and front door. We ran around to the front and sure enough, there was this massive forest of tree trunks and branches all over our sidewalk.
Neighbors gathered quickly and covered the hole in our roof with tarpaulin because rain was headed our way. That was a blessing because soon the rain started to pour.
When things had settled down a bit and my son and I were talking about all that had happened that morning, I found out that when he opened the front door, he actually saw those two gigantic trees (which were close to our house, not far from the front door) swaying from the ground up. In other words, the trunks themselves were swaying which meant they were getting ready to come forward towards the house. I realized that God had kept our son safe from going out onto the sidewalk where the trees were getting ready to fall, clearly God’s protection.
On Monday when the insurance adjuster came, he couldn’t get over how those two huge trees did not cut our house like a knife. He said that when you have two enormous trees fall over on a house, it usually cuts completely through the house. Again, I realized again how God had protected both my son and me from being hurt by the trees and a falling roof and ceiling.
One thing I remember, too, is that my husband said those two trees looked like they had been laid gently on our house. I believe it was the hand of God, easing the fall of those trees to protect us!
How many times does God protect us throughout our lives and we don’t even realize it?
We ended up getting our roof repaired and a replacement chimney. One tree did major damage to a corner of the house where there is a walk-in closet. (You could stand in that closet, look up, and see the sky.)
I felt sorry for the guys on trash day who came to pick up tree limbs! Those pieces of tree trunk and large limbs were huge and very heavy. Those were 60 year old trees so they had done a lot of growing!