Articles

“I see now, Lord,” my journal entry reads, “that you are telling me no to yet another boy I dreamed might be my future husband. I do not yet understand this decision, but I pray that you give me clarity and help me to be content in a friendship. Lord, you alone know what is best for me. Help me be content in that. Lord, I beg you, please grow my contentment in you alone.”…

Seven years ago, my husband, David, died from cancer at the age of 44. At the time, we were living in the first home we bought together, which we had also built. By God’s grace, the kids and I were able to continue living in that home for years after David’s death. Not every widow can say the same. I am thankful for the time God gave us there. However, God brought me to a…

My son Adam’s job involves calibrating pharmaceutical instruments. He does all kinds of procedures I don’t understand to all kinds of machines I don’t understand so the gauges read accurately. So the medications we take are produced correctly. So we don’t die.

I can’t imagine why the gauges need all that attention. I mean, once you set them to the standard, shouldn’t they stay put? 

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. 
There is no shadow of turning with Thee. 
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not. 
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. 

This has always been my favorite hymn. When I was younger, I loved the message of God’s faithfulness in our lives (and I really liked that I could sing the beautiful harmony without looking at the notes). Through the years as I have repeatedly experienced God’s faithfulness, the words have grown even dearer. “Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”

Often we Christian pilgrims hear from the Lord in unique and precious ways as we go through deep valleys, difficult trials, and dark times. It’s not so much a lifeline thrown to us from God as it is His lifeblood pulsing through our minds and souls as we walk on and keep going. Through trial, our awareness of God and His kingdom is sharpened. 

This past COVID year, in particular, I’ve experienced an uptick in my sensitivity to the Lord and His deep love for me and all of humanity.