Good morning…
Since our family found its spiritual home at Northside Church in 2003, we have been praying for Elizabeth Potts. Sunday after Sunday, year after year, her name has been read aloud from the collective prayer list, and as a church family we have diligently prayed for God’s healing touch to support the life of Elizabeth. Being diagnosed with a malignant, inoperable brain tumor as she was turning four years old, Elizabeth was welcomed into her eternal home on March 11th, at the age of thirty-three. Her obituary pays tribute to her unique life, a life saturated with the love of God.
As I walked into Elizabeth’s funeral, I met up with my dear, dear friend, Cathy Smith, whose daughter Abby battled the same cancer diagnosis from 2004 to 2011. “After her courageous and spirited fight for the past 5 1/2 years, our sweet Abby was freed from her earthly, physical bondage and was given the gift of eternal life in Heaven with Jesus,” begins Abby’s obituary. “She was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma brain tumor at the young age of 23 months old. Throughout her initial diagnosis and multiple relapses, Abby exhibited much grace and perseverance as she endured the harsh treatments and many physical challenges that she faced daily as a result. In her short life of just seven years, she blessed and impacted so many people… She brought joy to all who knew her. She was known for her big, blue-green eyes, her love for pink, and all of the bracelets and accessories that she loved to wear. Her favorite place to be was at home, surrounded by family and those she loved.”
Truly blessed by the colorful life of Abby, my life has been shaped by the incredible love of her family and friends.
There are others I love who are currently facing hard health challenges – children, teens, and adults. One gentle friend emailed yesterday, “We are struggling with the cancer diagnosis and the awful chemo – it does suck! And you pray so hard that it works. The side effects on the family are horrendous.”
That’s why God blesses us with “soul friends” – to support one another when life sucks, to pray so hard and long for healing, and to soothe the horrendous side effects with texts, emails, visits, hugs, calls, and tender timely words. These are fresh, tangible gifts from God wrapped up in human form.
Right now, I open Biblegateway.com, and the verse of the day is miraculously the same Scripture verse shared at Elizabeth’s funeral. God continues to whisper in surround sound, bringing to life familiar words spoken through a contemporary translation.
The Eternal is my shepherd, He cares for me always.
He provides me rest in rich, green fields
beside streams of refreshing water.
He soothes my fears;
He makes me whole again,
steering me off worn, hard paths
to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.
Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness,
I am not overcome by fear.
Because You are with me in those dark moments,
near with Your protection and guidance,
I am comforted (Psalm 23:1-4, VOICE).
As “soul friends” might we focus our full attention on the surround sound whisper of God? The Eternal truly is our shepherd, soothing our fears, making us whole, comforting us with protection and guidance in those dark moments. We are not alone. We are never, ever alone.
…Sue…
