We need memorials


So, if I am being honest...I sit here typing more out of discipline than out of sheer joy...right now "blogging" feels like one more thing to do on my growing list!:) So, why do it? Why not just put it off till another day? Because it brings a sweet benefit to my soul as I recount the faithfulness of God...as I remember what He has done...as I take time to ponder how GREAT our God is! It's a way to set up a memorial.

I had the blessing of listening to some great messages on my trip to and from Portland. In fact, going back one step farther...I had the blessing of going at all. Friends from church stepped up in AMAZING ways to help with the kids (and even meals), Bryan is an amazing husband and father and he "stepped up" in ways well beyond his comfort zone and all this was orchestrated by the mighty hand of God so that I could go and be with my parents. As I sit here typing, tears fill my eyes as I praise the Lord for being able to make that trip. There is much more I could share and plan to share about the trip...but I'll leave that for later.

Back to the messages. One of the sermons I listened to was by John Piper "Sustained by Sovereign Grace-Forever". What a perfectly timed message for me (and I think no matter what is going on in your life...it would be a perfectly timed message for you too!:) ). Thanks, Bryan for picking out some great messages for me!

Anyway...the main point of the message was that God allows suffering and trials so that we can see His amazing, sovereign grace and how it can and will sustain us no matter what He takes us through. In other words, if God could cause my dad's appendix to start giving him pain so that he would go to the hospital and, in the middle of his appendectomy, have a small heart attack to reveal the bigger issue of a very diseased heart, so that he could be transferred to Portland, and given a surgeon who loves Jesus with all of his heart to perform an operation that, without it, would have left my dad most likely dead of a massive heart attack...if God could do all that...then he could have kept my dad's heart disease free and never in need of a surgery or the months of recuperation that will ensue. BUT, He has done all this to show the surpassing greatness of His grace and that it WILL sustain my dad and mom today, tomorrow and always. And the scars on my dad's chest, arm and leg that he will carry for the rest of his life are better seen as memorials...memorials of God's sustaining, sovereign grace!

What memorials do you have to remind you of God's sustaining, sovereign grace? In the Old Testament, memorials were often piles of rocks. For my dad, one of his memorials is now his scars. I have my own scar...from a c-section that brought forth the life of my little son, Titus. We have a stone in a cemetery in New York that is a memorial of God's sustaining, sovereign grace in the midst of our baby's death. And there are SO many other little memorials...reminders of God's faithfulness and sovereign grace throughout each and every day of my life.

We need to be so very thankful. We need to be reminded of God's sustaining, sovereign grace. We need memorials!

Comments

thanks, Kristin!
I'm glad to hear you had a blessed trip to Portland and that all was "covered" at home while you were gone. Praise God!

Thanks for the sermon recommendation; I'll try and make time to give it a listen!

God bless you; miss you!
love,
linda
Anonymous said…
You are so right Kristin. We need to set up memorials - either physically or mentally - of God's faithfulness to us.

I too have a c-section scar from Kelsey's birth. Her cord was pressed between her head and my pelvis. She very easily could have been born dead. God was very gracious in a perfectly healthy baby.


In his continuing faithfulness He allowed me to have a V-BAC for my second child - our son, Grant - which was the most amazing experience of my life. Because of fertility issues, I may not have had ANY children. But God, in His goodness to me gave me the precious gift of these two blessings.

I also look back and wonder why God gave me the amazing experience of Grant's birth and then took him home before he turned fifteen years old. Why did God put that pain into my life? But, what if I had never had Grant? That would have been a worse pain. What if Grant had died when he was two and he came into the kitchen with a bag sucked onto his face? What if he had not been able to get to where we were from his room?

Yes, God is gracious and merciful to us!

It is the valleys where we feel God's presence the most. It is the dark times in life when we most experience His grace, love, and mercy.

Kevin had a kidney stone attack a few months after the girls came home and we are so thankful for this. You see, Kevin had a stricture which was causing a lot of stress to his bladder. We did not know of this until the kidney stone got stuck. The surgery he had took care of this longterm problem he had had. "Killed two birds with one stone", was what I told the nurse. She just cracked up over that one!

I think of Kira's fall and concussion and how it could have been so much worse, but God spared us that pain.

I hang onto the memorials set up in my life as we continue to wait for Levi. I KNOW that my God is a loving heavenly Father Who knows what is best for me.

And, as I sit here and try to remember the times that God has touched me in a special way in my life, I am struck by how few "tragedies" I have to remember in my life. Isn't that a memorial as well? God has been so good to me and kept me from much heartache and pain. I am truly blessed.
For His Glory said…
I appreciated what you shared and am so thankful that God has gifted you more time with your dear dad...
Paul said…
"I will rejoice over them to do them good... with all of my heart and all of my soul" (Jeremiah 32:41) That's God speaking to His people! This verse just blew me away and is taking me into a moment of greater love for my God and greater repentence at disbelieving His love and His sustaining sovereign grace. Thanks for this post sis!