“So do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you: I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
” For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear: I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13
Yesterday, Monday morning, I woke with the above verses going through my mind.. “Do not be dismayed, do not be discouraged.”
I wasn’t sure why those verses decided to pop up and visit, I hadn’t been “dismayed” for awhile, and if I would assess myself more often, I probably would be discouraged!
The reality of it is that Monday morning, at 9:30 A.M., a sweet family friend of ours, 37 years old, was having her funeral….just the way she had planned it, in a large, beautiful Cathedral in the suburbs of Chicago. She, was and still is, my daughter’s best friend. And I couldn’t be there, for my daughter…who was devastated, though you wouldn’t see it.
Last week, I went to see my daughter, Courtney, for a few days, to help her out. Watching/playing with the little ones, so Courtney could sit by her friend’s bedside., while she was still alert. I was there for a night and 2 days, there had been little change with her friend, so I felt like I could go home, and I knew I’d be back soon. But, not when.
Arriving home, I sat about preparing for guests at our cottage, Labor Day weekend was just a day away! We enjoyed their stay with us, and together we attended a large party on Labor Day, with my husband’s family.
Her friend “made it” through the weekend, though slipped away soon after.
After she passed, we went back to my daughters’ for another night and 2 days, helping out with the kids, attending a “first” flag football game, and attending the “wake” on Sunday afternoon.
Again, I felt the same way. If I could just stay one more day….attend the funeral…then I would know that I had done everything I could, with the time that I had to give. But again, I had to be home.
Frustrated, dismayed even, over the feeling that I can never do enough….or was it?
This “death” was so tragic, and too soon. At the wake, my words of comfort choked in my throat…I can only hope and pray that they felt , or understood, the message I was relaying. Not long ago, I stood at the podium at my Father’s funeral, and I began with, “We know that God is near to the broken hearted, so He is very close right now…” This is what I wanted them to know, to hang on to, to count on, to rely on. The God of all Creation, tells us to “not fear”, “I will be with you.” Can you imagine meaning that much to anyone that important???? Obviously, He has other things to do, needs to be met, prayers to be heard and answered. And yet? He stops everything to reassure us, comfort us, encourage us to keep going, and He’ll go with us!
God’s amazing Love…for Us…always present, never failing.
God will give us the strength, His strength, to carry out all that we are called to do, and the wisdom to know that our abilities are feeble, without the Lord himself beside us.
Friends, I feel like I’ve been all over on this post, but the emotions are a bit “all over” as well! In your prayers, please remember the family of Jessica, her parents, her husband, her “little” brother, and her daughter, only 4 years old….wondering where her Mother is.
Just pray. Thank you,
Blessings, Beth
