09/03/2021
January 30, 2021
A few days ago a friend called me for advice. She's was going through a rough time and I was trying my best to encourage her. I began to share some things that'd I'd learned through my own rough patches in life. One of these times was during Makenna's surgeries. I shared a personally meaningful portion of scripture found in Ecclesiastes 3. The first verse says, "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven."
Ecclesiastes was written by the wisest man that ever lived, besides Jesus himself. Solomon had studied and searched for all the answers to the questions of life. He came to the conclusion that there must be trials. These are teaching moments and some down right awful times in our lives, but it is appointed, not mere happenstance. It is purposeful and ultimately needful. The next few verses show a contrast of the good times and bad. "...a time to weep and a time to laugh...to mourn and to dance...to get and to lose...keep and castaway...war and peace...". At the end of this list are some words I've unofficially assigned to represent this time in our lives, Makenna's and our journey.
"He hath made everything beautiful...in...his...time."
May 2 to May 11, 2013 and all the days surrounding that hospital stay were painful for me. There was no beauty in it at the time, only fear, sorrow, and a broken heart. Now, on the other end of that difficult trial I can look back and say that God has turned that dismal time, that ugly pile of chaos and heartache into a testimony of beauty that still leaves me in awe. Sometimes all we can see in the dirty, dark, unappealing things that seem to fall in our path, uninvited. We can pass through those times with the help of God's grace and turn those moments into portraits of beauty that others can look to and be encouraged and comforted by, because He has indeed made everything beautiful in HIS time.
As I am sharing these thoughts with my lovely friend, I have a spunky 8 year old flopping feet over head behind me on the couch, occasionally delivering a swift kick to the back of my head. I prescribe to my friend that she do as I had. I didn't keep my hard times and trials to myself. That would've made them feel all in vain. No. I shared every painful truth, detail and emotion with others so that they too could see and be encouraged that beautiful times are coming. A particularly hard blow to my neck knocks me off focus followed by a hug and Mak confirms, "mom, you did your best". Even a kick to the head can become a beautiful thing and I am thankful still that I can claim this promise.
