Several years back when our family was undergoing a lot of changes, God brought these amazing ladies into my life. Little did I know how much I would grow to love them. They came into our life shortly after my best friend had moved away, my father had died and some other groups we had been part of had dissipated.
From the beginning there was something special about these sweet ladies. They invited me to participate in their weekly study group. They cultivated an atmosphere of trust that allowed me to be real and vulnerable with them. It was a beautiful, rare group. After a long time of meeting, a couple families moved, and it made it difficult to meet weekly. However, we still found reasons to stay in touch and meet on a regular basis.
Through the years we have grown as we have laughed and cried together, shared in joys and sorrows. We’ve watched our kids grow and mature together. We’ve celebrated new babies, grieved over the loss of family members, supported and prayed together through different illnesses, rejoiced over healings. Over the years we have walked through various life events, and each event has knitted us closer together.
When I was diagnosed, I fully expected these ladies to come along side us with prayer. I did not expect the rest. Not only have they fervently prayed on our behalf, cried with us, laughed with joy at each triumph. They organized and set up the care calendar, child-care help, grocery help and set up and ran the garage sale for fundraising. I cannot even comprehend the amount of things done “behind the scenes” to help our family.
James and I have continually been amazed. We never expected the help or the love we have received. All of you have given us such a sweet glimpse of what the body of believers should look like. We have been humbled and yet honored by the continual show of love. Now I cannot imagine what it would be like to go through this alone. I know that what we have is rare, to have all of you supporting and rooting us on. I can tell you we feel loved. Our burdens have been lifted in more ways that we can count.
I am not sure how to articulate all of this very well, but I have to tell you that God is trying to show me his love for me. Our sweet nurse told me, “you must be a bit stubborn.” James says I am going to need a flying pig to tell me of God’s love. Um, yes, I am a bit hard headed (okay, more than a bit-sheesh), I am not the best student when it come to receiving and absorbing these lessons. BUT I am getting better, and I am catching on at a faster pace.
As another sweet friend told me, God is reparenting you, he is showing you how much a father loves his daughter. He is teaching me to rely on him for every need. He has been gentle in his dealings with me but also firm. I feel like he is calling me out, saying “It is time, let’s go to the next level.” My heart is being softened, my eyes are being opened.
Thanks, friends, for being Keepers and showing me God’s love in so many tangible ways.
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