God interrupts time to invade the plant He made, we broke, with a great and holy gift. His son.
For God so loved this broken world, he gave his son.
Within this season, I received a note from a good friend. She was passing on a note from one of her friends. It was a different kind of interruption. There is within the story a whisper of the great and holy gift, but also the grief and pain of the most painful of all losses.
Why am I sharing this --the anguish is real, but so is the honest beauty of faith in a living God even when confronted with such pain. It's the kind of honesty and the depth of faith that inspires an instructs as to the realities of a broken world and how we survive with faith.
Also, I am asking you to pray for both my friend who forwarded the note to me and for the writer--a wife, mom, daughter and friend who is hurting a great deal as she says goodbye to her husband.
First the background note from my friend:
"I wanted to share a prayer request last night but it was too tender and I was scared I was going to burst into tears. Some of you may know of them. The husband has been fighting cancer for over 15 years and we met them in 2000 when when my husband was first was diagnosed. Since that time, the wife and I have been through so much together and are bonded by faith and our almost exact experiences with cancer. Their faith has been an amazing witness and I wanted to share this with you because this is exactly what our study group talked about a couple of weeks ago. Exactly....This is the wife's post from their Caring Bridge website. As you feel led, please pray for this precious family and dear friends. Thank you!!!
Now: The Caring Bridge Post from the wife/friend my fried mentioned:
"Remembering God's character--
God is good. God is faithful. God is loving. God gives His perfect peace. I can go on and on. Even when these difficult times come, I am reminded that He is able to hold us up. He is going to take care of us. He is going to provide and remain our faithful God. Everything else will be ok because of Him. But it doesn't mean it will be easy....
Today I took Tom back to the hospital for IV fluids and IV nutrition. He was admitted but as of this writing (almost 10pm) he still has not started the IV fluids! This is so frustrating!! Patience has never been my strong suit, but I am trying.
Yesterday was one of the most difficult days I have ever had, and I have had some tough ones. We had to tell the kids that Tom may not get better and that he might go to be with Jesus. Never a conversation you want to have. We had emotions all across the board- lots of tears, fears and anger. But in the end, precious time together as a family and an opportunity to say things that might get left unsaid for a lifetime. Another precious blessing wrapped in difficulty.
We hope to have a heart to heart with our doctor tomorrow and also see how Tom is responding to the fluids. I have already been in contact with a local hospice and will see if and when that transition will be made.
Please continue to pray. We have felt the Spirit move on our behalf. We have experienced His peace. But I have also felt like someone has ripped the heart from my chest. I almost can't breathe at times. I can't imagine Tom, the love of my life for over 20 years, not being with me. But I trust God and His character. I trust Him for Tom, our children and myself. He is worthy."
Thanks for lifting up this family in prayer. I give thanks for their faith and their love for each other.
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