Our pastor has been teaching us out of James for awhile - I truly
love that book! It's so practical. Last Sunday the sermon was out of
James 5:7-11 "Be Patient With One Another". But the last point was "Be
Patient With God". And the Scriptures talked about the endurance of the
prophets and Job.
The notes went like this...
B. Example of Job (v 11)
1. He lost everything.
2. He endured (showed great patience)
3. The outcome - The Lord's compassion and mercy
and my additional notes included Job 42:10 "The Lord restored the
fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased
all that Job had twofold." I underlined the two part. I'm not sure what
my thinking was - but I identify with some of the things Job dealt with
- not all mind you.
Today I got a card in the mail. It was from my secret sister. It was
a Get Well Soon card ... which sort of cracked me up. But then I read
what she wrote inside.
Job 42:10
Dear Amy,
I think God has blessed you even more than Job - Job got a double
portion from God; but you have been given a triple portion in your 3
boys - REJOICE!!
2 Samuel 12:20-22
Your pain of losing Joshua is real. But, because of your faith in
Jesus you will be with him again - for all eternity! Take comfort!!
Only our Lord Jesus can heal your heart - trust Him to do so.
Love, Your Secret Sister
And, you know - I have thanked the Lord for giving me the boys. Not
only did I have to keep going - get dressed every day and try to
function - but they are/were so loving to me - drying my tears and
giving me reason to laugh again.
But I've never considered the truth that He provided the blessing of
them BEFORE the trial! Isn't that like God - He knew what I needed and
provided it before I needed it!
Thanks Secret Sister for helping me to see that today!
| 
Oct. 6, 2006 - My daughter helped me through
But after he died, having Rebecca at home made such a difference. We still had to get up and feed her everyday. She still needed a bath, and to have her diaper changed, and everything else a toddler needs. I couldn't just lie in bed and hibernate, which is what I wanted to do. She kept us going.
And I thank God for the blessing of her.
Christopher would have been ten this summer. It's funny how the tears still hit you unexpectedly. I wrote a book about him last year (published by Kregel), called How Big Is Your Umbrella: Weathering the Storms of Life. I didn't learn anything new, in particular, writing it, because I had already thought all that stuff out. But actually sitting down and putting the words to paper took a lot out of me.
But God is good. And He does comfort us. And that is amazing.