Monday, July 6, 2009

Goodness

The 4th of July was so much fun. We enjoyed great friends, food, and family. The girls swam the day away and were way more excited about their glow sticks than all the fireworks. It was, by far, one of the best 4th's we have had in a long time.

While the 4th was fun, it provided a great distraction from other events happening in our life currently. As of 2 weeks ago we found out that Dave has a chance of losing his job on the 17th of this month. For those tracking the timing, that means 10 days before giving birth to our 3rd child. And by chance, I mean about 80%. We're praying right now that we land somewhere in the 20% range.

When I first heard, my emotions went a bit crazy. I'm not an emotional person, so crying makes me really uncomfortable. But this particular evening, I sat with my kids and allowed the tears to flow. I knew we were not alone in this situation as many, many people are experiencing lay offs these days. But it was my children and their provision that weighed so heavily on me.

After my emotional evening I started to think a bit clearer. As a family who serves the Lord we know that He is sovereign over all things. We know that He has not left us nor forgotten us in the midst of our pain. What is difficult to understand, at times, is that He is good, is incredibly loving despite our circumstances, and has a deep, deep love for us. I recognize for some this is not a struggle, but for me, it is.

I am encouraged by this family who lost their child and despite their immense pain is still praising God for His love for them and His goodness. I love their dependance on scripture and their open eyes to see the blessings, such as the impending arrival of their second child.

I love this post (from a previous favorite link Friday) about understanding the goodness of God, again, despite incredible amounts of pain. I love her quote:

"But He does not protect us from the living of the bad dreams and from feeling we are lost. He whispers to us through our pain that there is a life beyond the present suffering. He sits silently with us in our anguish--in the nightmares so real and heavy and terrifying, the ones that we cannot escape or blink away. He reminds us that the seemingly endless grief is but a moment that will fade in the vast expanse of the Life to come."

So I'm sitting here tonight remembering that God loves me and will sit with me in pain. He loves my family and He knows what lies ahead. He is neither surprised nor is He unprepared to help us walk through the suffering. He never promise's to deliver us from suffering but to walk thru it with us. I have peace. Dave has peace. We will wait and see what He has planned.

7 comments:

Julie said...

Hey Kate!!! I just read a lot about the family you were mentioning in this blog and wow! Thank you so much for sharing that family with all of us. Such an inspiration to us all who are either experiencing some kind of pain and/or have experienced it in the past.

For me, in my past. Reading her posts, made me cry, literally. It brought me back to Jaden being in the NICU and him being in the hospital 3 times within a month. Though I can't imagine experiencing what she had gone through, I had a glimpse of it with my own. Very minor in comparison, but just as scary.

What an encouragement to see two people hurting tremendously, turn everything over to him only to find the glory he had for them. To remember that even when we don't understand, he still loves us and will sit with us through our pain. Amazing!

Such an eye opener to our every day lives! How can we glorify the Lord in the mist of our pain. Again, thank you so much for sharing her blog. She/they are an inspiration to me!

amanda said...

sending you lots of hugs and hoping for the 20%...

AnonyMe said...

Hoping for the best for you and the family, Kate. I know you'll keep it in perspective and it will all turn out okay no matter what.

Allikaye's Mama said...

I will be praying for you, my bloggy friend! I love that quote - I pray you will feel peace and comfort!!

Anonymous said...

Oh friend...lots of love an prayer for you xoxoxo

FOr a little light humor...Bellingham is calling you or is it me:)

talk to you soon:)

Jenny

Shelby said...

Kate....I just love you. I am praying for you and your family tonight. I KNOW that your all will be just fine. It is all in HIS plan.

I want to tell you a little story that Jacob and I went through. Years ago, right out of college,when we were newly engaged, Jacob was fired from his job. He was fired for something he didn't do and he attempted to protest what happened to him. I thank God to this day that all of this happened to us the way it did because, little did we know, huge, awesome, total life changes were just around the bend. We had no idea how much better our lives were about to get and we were so down in the dumps during this time in our lives.

I'm just saying, that I know this is a totally stressful time and not good timing (in your opinion). I also know that I don't need to remind you that God's plan is the supreme one. There is a reason that this may or may not happen. Just hang in there, keep trusting Him and watch His awesomeness. There are good things in store for your precious family of 5. No doubt!

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