A decade ago, I took a poetry class at our local community college. Several of the poems were about my disabled brother and/or mentally ill mother. In the case of the latter, writing is a coping skill that helped me deal with my feelings regarding my mom, while the poems about my brother are more about his feelings than mine, and his abilities, rather than the dis part. My poetry teacher, now our Montana poet laureate, told me, "I'm sorry about your difficult childhood but, oh, what material!" I have been thinking about that as my niece and her family go through this health crisis. I am sorry Amanda has experienced so much pain, nausea and other discomforts of lupus and its treatment. I am sorry my sister and her husband have endured such financial stress and separation. But I am not sorry it is happening. I do not want them to miss out on the blessings that come with the trials because they deepen our walk with Christ.
We do not really experience, or even desire, the deep, deep love of Jesus when life flows smoothly around us. It is when we are sinking in the storms of desperation that we find Jesus is with us in the depths. He may not prevent or end the storm, but neither will He leave us to face it alone. And for the blessing of that deepening, I would not wish their circumstances changed. The story of their lives is not turning out as they expected, but God is the One writing it and oh, what material.
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