Light and Momentary Troubles

It was a Facebook message that seemed to come out of nowhere.
A man introduced himself as the husband of someone I once knew.
This girl was the oldest of seven children.
She and her family lived on my street.

Five girls and two boys grew up in a three-bedroom house.
Since I went to school with two of the sisters, I spent time in their home.
The five girls all shared the master bedroom.
Being an only child, I had never seen so many beds.

I lost touch with the family as life moved us on.
I lost touch until I reconnected with the two sisters on Facebook.
Until the message came that particular evening, I never knew what happened to the rest.
This man gave me the full name of the woman, identifying himself as her husband.

He is her eyes.
Complications from diabetes have caused blindness.
I wanted very much to reconnect with her.
Her husband gave me her cell phone number.

Prior to that message, her mother had tried to reach out to me.
Mrs. S discovered that I had written a book.
She was proud of the little girl she once knew, who was now an author.
I was given her phone number and decided to call her.

How delightful to catch up with her after all these years.
We talked and shared and remembered.
Mrs. S now lives with her oldest daughter and husband.
I was able to talk to two friends that same day.

After talking to Mrs. S, I called her daughter on her cell phone.
We talked and shared and remembered.
It was a day of memories and connecting the dots of our lives.
I was amazed at the testimony of this woman’s life.

Diabetes, blindness, cancer, and heart problems are all part of her story.
In the midst of all these issues and illnesses, she needed a kidney transplant.
Her own husband, the one who is her eyes, was her donor.
An incredible story was unfolding before me that has eternal significance.

In our conversation, we discovered that we have Something else that binds us together.
The Lord Jesus.
Our Lord and Savior.
I heard her personal testimony and she heard mine.

To say that someone is on fire for the Lord is an understatement.
Jesus is her Lord, her Savior, her Rock, her Hope, and the reason she lives and moves.
We marveled that the Lord would bring us together after all these years.
Her husband is a kind man; the two of them are incredible witnesses for the Lord Jesus.

We are sisters in the Lord.
All the things we knew about each other from our growing up years led to this.
My Mom is a believer, too, she told me that day on the phone.
Mrs. S, the woman who seemed forever young to me, is a sister in the Lord as well.

My heart leaped for joy.
I listened astounded at the perfect way God purposefully places His people.
He connects them and reconnects them all to His Glory.
He has a plan, unseen to us that He is working together for good.

I often have the privilege of speaking to women at various churches.
I was invited to speak at a church that was located close to my hometown.
Mrs. S and her daughter wanted to come and hear me speak.
Mrs. S. and her daughter wanted to celebrate all that God has done and is doing.

It was a glorious time.
To look out and see two very special faces from my childhood was a gift.
To know that each of us have common memories and now a common eternal destiny.
I rejoiced.

I love them both very much, for who they were to me and who they are to me now.
I see my friend as victorious over the brokenness that permeates this fallen world.
She has defied the odds and proven many doctors wrong.
She presses on in the Lord, strong, determined, and passionate about Jesus and His Word.

Mrs. S is an amazing woman who stands by her daughter but never coddles her.
The quick wit that I remember in each of them is still there.
It is necessary in order for them to press on.
My friend is a testimony to Life.

Only God decides when a life begins and ends.
Only God determines the things we face here that, though difficult, bring Him glory.
Only God’s people can press on in Hope.
Only God’s people know that we are just passing through.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17,18)

God is good, all the time.
This life is not about our momentary comfort.
This life is about bringing Him the most glory.
Bringing Him glory through and despite our troubles.

My friend does that.
Her sweet husband, who is her eyes and who gave her one of his kidneys, does that.
Mrs. S does that.
How I pray that I do that as well.

We often try to do whatever we can to alleviate suffering.
It is in the suffering that God is most clearly visible.
It is in the suffering that you realize how much you need God.
It is in the suffering that you realize what really matters.

My heart is full.
A connection that only God could orchestrate is producing much fruit.
Fruit for the Kingdom harvest.
Each of us using our gifts and our life story to testify to His Goodness and mercy.

Thank you, sweet friend and Mrs. S for giving me a glimpse of the Kingdom.
A Kingdom where broken people, which are all of us, are made whole in Him.
A Kingdom where He reigns victorious over sin and death.
A Kingdom where one day there will be no more tears or sickness or suffering.

A Kingdom where we will be with Him forever.
Praise God in and through and because of the struggles.
God is good.
God is good, all the time.