(My surgery went very well. And today, as yet another well-received entry is posting we are heading to take Massey to the airport for his return flight to Texas. What a joy it has been to have him home! Please pray for safe travels!)
Even at this early hour, Father, many things are running through my mind – joy in seeing Your mighty hand at work in the life of a newborn recovering from life-changing surgery – thinking, with a heavy heart, of events which transpired at work yesterday and what it means for parties involved – a gamut of emotions but though I feel both joy and sorrow the depths of what I feel is nothing compared to the joy the mother of the newborn is feeling or the sorrow of the life-changing events with which the individual from work is dealing.
And, Father, You permeate the mix – You are right there with us, rejoicing when we rejoice and there to console us in our loss. But what is our response to You? It is easy to give You praise in the midst of blessing… but can we do so in times of heartache? If we can, it would help us. Sometimes we are able to do so but only after a period of time.
There are times when, because of our own actions, we experience heartache. We did something we should not have done or we didn’t do something we should have done. Either way, we must deal with the consequences. It may seem odd but praise is appropriate. We can praise because now that it is exposed we can deal with it – no more hiding, no more denying, no more avoiding it. Even if sin is involved we can praise because if we repent, You love us and will forgive – new slate, new start – move on.
We can praise in that everything we experience in life can be built upon. You use it all to mold and shape us into what we need to be – even the bad stuff can be used. It can make us more sensitive to the plight of others. It can strengthen our own fortitude so as not to fall again. It can be a catalyst to move us on to bigger and better things. It can help us see the importance of our relationship with You – more dependence on You and less on ourselves.
Lord, help me this day to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and “mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15 Remind me to pray for them and help me to remember that in my walk with You, that You “must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30 Amen.
May 11th, Tues, 5:51 am
