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I’m so thankful for my friend Lauren Chandler, who wrote this in her foreword for Glimpses of Grace:
“This is sustaining grace, this is the desired haven: to know his steadfast love that saves and keeps us. Glimpses of Graceis not a how-to. It is a true friend’s invitation to see and
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According to my due date, we’ve only got about a month left before we meet our baby “on the outside.” Despite this short time frame, when I feel the aches of physical pain or emotional stress I feel like those particular challenges will be forever. The hope that comes from “just hang in there” dwindles as these fatigues increase while I’m making breakfast.
For whatever circumstances we are in, where can we find reliable, lasting encouragement when waves of discouragement break on the shore of our heart? And when we feel we could be swept away by a current of self-pity, doubt, or fear?
We need a durable, enduring, rock-like hope. These words from one of David’s psalms come to mind:
Read More“Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61:1, 2).
On one of our recent flights we sat in the back of the plane next to a family with four young kids. We joked together about how they seated our noisy broods next to the white-noise producing engines.
When the plane started rolling down the runway for takeoff, our neighbors’ youngest son started to lose his cool. He threw off his seat belt, began kicking the chair in front of him, and fought his mother’s attempts to restrain him. He screamed at an octave that few human beings could reach as the plane lifted higher and higher into the sky.
A flight attendant made her way to their seats and asked the mother if she could help, insisting that the boy remain in his chair with his seat belt on. They had a brief
Read MoreIt’s so hard for us to accept help from people, isn’t it?
For various reasons, the physical logistics of getting our daughter to and from school were overwhelming. When school started this semester someone proposed a plan to help make our school drop-offs and pick-ups a lot easier. It was a good plan to fill a real need. Even though it was obvious that I needed my friend’s help, it was still hard for me to say yes.
During a particularly dark time when I was struggling (and choosingnot to struggle) with bitterness, a dear sister called me regularly to pray with me and ask me hard questions about my heart and my choices. This was real help for a real need. But still—it was hard for me to say yes. And it was hard for me to keep saying yes by answering my phone, returning text messages, and answering her honestly.
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