April 16, 2020

Just for Moms...

Proverbs 16:1-9 brought reflection, a renewed commitment, and a greater understanding to my heart this morning.

As I live life as a pilgrim here, I have plans that I make for each day, month, year, and sometimes beyond...but what I often forget that God determines our steps. Our family has long joked about "we have plan A, but we also have a B and C for just in case...and if that doesn't work... God's plan is probably better!"

And with those thoughts, I went back to 2008...the year that life changed for our family. We had a peaceful life working in our family business, rearing our children, and serving in our church. The economic storm came and tore away every peaceful part of life we knew. Then in 2009, the health of our middle child was taken away. We clung to everything we knew to be true about our Master and Savior. We begged for His help to stay afloat in the rough seas as the wind blew harder when the words of malignant cancer came. We lost our breath walking into the hospital room on the oncology floor of American Children's Hospital in Madison, WI. We gasped and kicked our feet to stay above water as the doctors gave us the plan for the next four days...

And then...the rainbow in the sky. That morning as we drove to Madison, WI, from Rockford, IL, it was raining and storming. I remember the irony of it all. By the time we got through all the preliminaries of the day, the rain had stopped...but we didn't know...there were no windows in any of the rooms. But...Alisa's room had a beautiful view...and the sun was getting ready to set...but through the clouds...there was a rainbow! There was hope...that God showed...when our storm was at its darkest. I played this song repeatedly through those days and weeks..."He already sees the rainbow when we see only clouds!"

God brings us through storms in our life...so that we may point to our God and share the hope that He gives. Those days changed our family forever! We think, plan, and act different because we know what God has done in the past and we trust Him for the future!

When the storms of life come, you fight for your life...for peace...for help while you call on God for His help and His strength. You ask Him to keep those in your life safe. You ask Him to give strength to those who have the power to help and lead. You realize that "nobody gets it" and that is ok...it's not their storm! You realize you may be called on later to help in their storm.

You must fight...for there are people watching you in the storms of life...they are watching for the hope that they too can cling to in their storms. God needs the survivors to share that hope...after the storm has subsided or totally gone away. God brings storms to our life...so that we may share the hope of a Savior who loves and care for this world. God has given so many opportunities to share that hope through the years...and now another time.

I did not ask for the storms in our life...God determined that they were needed. I can look back and thank Him because we have learned so many things that have made our family strong...and we are at peace.

With love,

Kari...just a mom who sees this storm of 2020 a little differently