Good morning…
“The post is beautiful – just beautiful,” my dear friend wrote after yesterday’s message, When Our Strength Runs Out. “Seeing his obit in the paper this morning made it so real.” She shared a red broken heart emoji.
“It’s a beautiful obituary,” I texted back. “Simple. Straightforward. In keeping with his strong, loyal presence.”
My friend and I both love soup, so since the end of June I have been making her various homemade soups, taking her fresh fruits, organic vegetables, grocery staples, and unpacking, over a cocktail, the details of her challenging weeks. What tangible symbols of the love of God. Following the lead of her needs, I have deeply prayed for her and her husband. We have exchanged short loving texts all summer long. What a blessing it has been to lean into the Lord together.
Last Sunday morning, I woke to her request for really strong prayers after a very hard night. That afternoon I felt honored to pick up her best friend from Texas at the airport, dropping her off with my friend along with homemade hummus, fresh veggies, a vase of white roses, and a bottle of red wine, tokens of God’s overflowing love. I slipped out as these forever friends tearfully hugged “hello” around 5:30 pm. By 11:30 pm, I received the call that her husband had peacefully passed on to heaven. Quietly, I texted the few people she asked me to contact. This week I have marveled from an intimate distance at God’s perfect timing and loving provision.
During church on Sunday, I cried as we sang the song below. I am truly grateful that all human affliction is eclipsed by the glory of God.
And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss.
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest.
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about the way…
That He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us all.
May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:5, NASB1995).
…Sue…
