Light, Love, Hope

There was a popular song by Casting Crowns a few years ago entitled “Praise You In The Storm.”  As I look back on that time period, I’m reminded of a gentleman who was struggling with cancer at the time this song came out.  This gentleman was my husband’s boss, but he became a mentor to my husband after he started working there.

He was a great businessman, but more than that, he was a man of God.  He believed in sharing his faith, and he set a good example for my husband to look up to.  He is the reason for all of the good things that came to pass while my husband worked under him, as he believed in looking out of his hardworking employees.

When he fell ill, he started a Caring Bridge page where he documented his journey through cancer treatments.  He had five beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed little girls, and it broke our hearts what they were going through.  Sadly, although he praised God throughout his entire ordeal, he lost his battle on Earth with cancer but gained his angel wings in Heaven.

He was an example of praising God through the storms of life.

This tested the faith of those around him, but he did not show any wavering in his own faith.  Instead, he held his head up high and continued to minister to people he encountered even as he struggled with terminal cancer.

The day he died, hundreds gathered in the church watching a video of his life on the large screens on both sides of the stage.  And his niece took the “stage” to sing a song in his honor.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the place, including her, as she had to stop at the end due to the grief she was feeling singing at her uncle’s funeral.

Would you be able to display unwavering faith in God through your storms in life?  I know for me, it has been hard not to question God with what all my family and I have had to face.  However, I think my faith has remained strong throughout each and every situation.  I know I could not have made it this far without my Lord and Savior.

In a situation within my own family, my father became angry with God when we lost my sister, Pamela.  His faith was tested, and he all but turned his back on God at one point.  Who can blame him, really, after he prayed for God to “take care” of his oldest daughter, and yet she killed herself in the end.  That isn’t exactly what my father had envisioned when he prayed asking God to “take care” of her.  And we were all heart broken over the tragic way in which she left this world.  We could not comprehend how this could happen, and yet praising in the midst of our hearts shattering was the very last thing we wanted to do.  It was hard to even breathe in and out at that point.  Yet years later, my dad turned back to God and mended his relationship with Father God.  And, our hearts rejoiced.  I’ll never forget my grandmother asking my dad how he ever planned on seeing Pam again if he was so angry that he turned his back on God.  I am not exactly sure what swayed my dad to turn back to Jesus, but I’m sure glad he did.  Maybe it was a series of things from my grandmother’s words to their prayers, or maybe the cards filled with bible verses that she and my aunt would send finally got to him.  I’m not sure, as at the time he’d open the cards to find what it said on the inside and toss it down immediately.  But maybe a combination of things allowed him to answer to the knock at his heart once more when Jesus stood there asking to come back in.

It’s been several years since my dad answered the knock, and he and Jesus have walked hand in hand together.  I’m sure my dad still has questions, as we all do, but he’s managed to come back to God … and in doing so, he’s dug deeper into his bible and is able to pray “preacher worthy” prayers.  It was not something that happened over night, but we are glad my father found his way back to Jesus.

And we praise Him.

Imagine standing before two doors.

The first door is a dull gray.  Nothing too spectacular jumps out at you when you look at this door.  It’s a strong, sturdy door made of metal.  You know you will be secure when you walk through that door.  This one leads you back to your comfortable, albeit hectic, life.  The one you’ve grown accustomed to; the one where you do the same thing on a daily basis because it feels good to be in a secure environment.  You pretty much know how things will go and are okay without having a lot to upset the apple cart.

Then there’s door number two.

While it appears just as sturdy, you aren’t sure what to expect.  It’s more colorful with stained glass and beautiful designs.  It’s appealing to the eye, and it excites a part deep inside of you.  Therefore, you can’t help but wonder what awaits you, if you are brave enough to step through the threshold.  Yet, you’re frightened to take that one step out of your comfort zone into the unknown.

That is what is holding a lot of people back; the fear of the unknown.

It’s completely understandable to want what’s comfortable, what’s familiar.  But what if something grander waits on the other side of door number two?

There’s always a chance that door number two will disappoint, also.  That’s another part of the fear you’re dealing with.  What if you let go of door number one, never able to return to that door ever again, once you step through door number two?  And then you’re stuck behind locked door number two and have to find a way to accept what you’ve chosen that turned out not to be as grand as you had hoped?

That’s something we’re all facing with choices that we have to face and decisions we have to make.

When times get tough, you often ask yourself how you will get through it.  How will you survive when you feel tossed around by the seas, feeling threatened by the large swells around your boat, and fearing that at any moment your boat will take on water and sink?!

That is one thing about life; it will challenge you.

If you feel your life is dull, just wait a minute and something will happen to shake things up.  It’s almost as unpredictable as the weather at times!

How I dealt with it recently was with a long weekend getaway with my youngest daughter and my best friend in the entire world.   Greg, my friend of 20 years, offered an escape for us, and we took it!  Not only did this allow us to escape the storms in our lives, it allowed us to just … be.

He whisked us away on a plane from South Carolina to Illinois.  Our goal was to be stress free and enjoy spending time with Greg and his precious aunt.

Ah, the simple life.

And it felt SOOOO GOOD!

We arrived on a Thursday, to find Greg had provided us with a superb and spacious apartment style hotel room for our weekend getaway.  He stocked the refrigerator before our arrival, and even provided mints for our pillows (which gave us a chuckle).

Knowing me as well as he does, he had everything planned out on all of the adventures we would take while we were there.  And pampering was on the agenda that weekend, too – yes, Lord!

He wined us (okay, so it was actually Coke Zero, Mountain Dew, and water), dined us (I’m still stuffed and need to lose a few pounds from our trip!), and made us feel like a queen and a little princess (have I mentioned the deep tissue massage yet?)!

He provided entertainment in the car, with Sirius XM available for my listening pleasure, to full on carpool karaoke!

We laughed and had the best time!

And we had dinner with his sweet aunt and game night!  That is one of our favorites, when we gather around the table to play game, after game, after game.  We laughed … we harassed each other when we got the answers wrong, and even made a running joke (Ben Affleck, eh, Greg? – inside joke).

We had such good time with wonderful friends that are more like family.  We are forever indebted to Greg, and thank him for the hospitality he offered to us on this trip.

Oh, and we entertained his coworkers with our “Southern Accent,” which I still to this day do not even remotely think I even HAVE an accent at all!

So how will you get through hard times?  By surrounding yourself with friends who love you and help lighten your load!