March 16, 2023

Dear Ones

Hope your day is full of sunshine, even though it is an overcast day. I just finished baking cookies for Al as he is at Men’s group. Today is Donut day and Bible Study and then later we have a St. Patrick’s Day super party. Fun! 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   My eyes filled with tears as I read about my cousin’s son and wife and as they said their good byes to their 6 year old daughter who died last Friday night. All 7 siblings were there as well, and they hugged their sister good-bye for the last time before she went to be with the Lord. So many tears by all as Jensyn will be missed by their grieving hearts.

    Right afterwards I went on to read what Mark Roberts from Fuller Seminary had written for this day on grief which seemed so perfect in the timing. He referenced Romans12:15, ”Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” Right now Jensyn’s family doesn’t need cheering up but rather people to walk with them through their grief. We can’t heal if we bury our grief but we need rather to face it and share it with others who come along side of us.

   When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, He didn’t need to be exhorted and cheered for He knew that a time of extreme suffering was ahead. But what He wanted was that His disciples would accompany Him and to be with him in His time of sorrow. Isn’t that what others need also when they are going through sorrow and loss? We can’t change what happened, but we can let them know they are not abandoned but we will walk with them through it.

  But we also must be open to letting others share our sad times and sorrows with us. That is harder for me to do and perhaps it is for you also. But as we share our lives together with others, the happy and the sad, we experience unity with them and the Lord in a deep way. God’s love is so evident in the hugs and tears and prayers and our hearts are knit together. Tears are precious to the Lord and it says in Ps. 56:8(Message),”You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless night. Each tear entered in our ledger, each ache written in your book.”

   The Lord understands all that we go through and knows the number of our tears; He sends others into our lives to be His hands and heart and help us through those hard times.

Challenge for today: When others are grieving, allow the Lord to use you to share His love and comfort.