My pen (i.e. keyboard) has been on hold for the last week. My goal was to finish writing the Bible study I'm planning on having in hand on October 3 for the Abundant Life Conference for Women. I was half-way there at the beginning of the week. I am still half-way there.
That's because last week was one of those weeks where life just takes over. The first two days were busy with chores, school, and play dates. Then tragedy struck.
On Tuesday night a dear friend and Christian mentor suffered a major stroke. He never recovered consciousness from the before moment his wife found him. A day and a half later he was unhooked from the machines keeping his lungs and heart working while the essence of who he was had already gone.
It was an emotional week. This is a man I watched live out the commands and calling of Jesus from a short distance for years and had been talking to about going on a mission trip to Africa for the last year. We had actually just sat down a few weeks ago and set a date.
I was so excited to be going on my first international mission trip before turning 40.
The news hit hard. Because it was sudden. It was unexpected. And it affected my plans.
I also hold his wife dear, as I've been writing for her magazine for years. She's actually the reason I originally self-published, as she asked me to turn my fiction column into a novel.
As much as I was heart-broken, it was no comparison to what she was feeling. Or his three children. Seven grandchildren. Parents. Brother and sister. Their loss is much, much greater than mine.
While I was not writing last week, but dealing, coping, praying, and trying to understand, I saw God's hand all over the place. We do not understand why God would take home a man at 57 years old who was living his life for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus so diligently. But God knows so much more than we ever could.
And we have begun to see a bit of His work already. In the new friendships that were made through the connection of remembering this amazing man. Through people being led to go out on the mission field who may not have been asked or thought of without this man's death. God in His infinite wisdom knew the work He wanted to accomplish through this man's death that must not have been possible without it.
Still, we grieve. But not without hope. And now with a greater purpose. Jesus said He must go, that it was better for the disciples, that they'd do greater works after He was gone, which they did.
I believe firmly this is also God's perfect plan now. That we can all reflect on this man's life and catch more greatly the fire he had for spreading the Gospel, for taking salvation through Christ to the world.
So, I am resisting stress as I push against my self-made but necessary deadline, knowing I could have been further along in my writing, and instead rejoicing in what God is doing and revealing.
{P.S. If you'd like to find out more about this great man, his life, and work, visit Day Worker Missions. If you'd like to support his family during this most difficult time, consider giving through my GoFundMe page.}
That's because last week was one of those weeks where life just takes over. The first two days were busy with chores, school, and play dates. Then tragedy struck.
On Tuesday night a dear friend and Christian mentor suffered a major stroke. He never recovered consciousness from the before moment his wife found him. A day and a half later he was unhooked from the machines keeping his lungs and heart working while the essence of who he was had already gone.
It was an emotional week. This is a man I watched live out the commands and calling of Jesus from a short distance for years and had been talking to about going on a mission trip to Africa for the last year. We had actually just sat down a few weeks ago and set a date.
I was so excited to be going on my first international mission trip before turning 40.
The news hit hard. Because it was sudden. It was unexpected. And it affected my plans.
I also hold his wife dear, as I've been writing for her magazine for years. She's actually the reason I originally self-published, as she asked me to turn my fiction column into a novel.
As much as I was heart-broken, it was no comparison to what she was feeling. Or his three children. Seven grandchildren. Parents. Brother and sister. Their loss is much, much greater than mine.
While I was not writing last week, but dealing, coping, praying, and trying to understand, I saw God's hand all over the place. We do not understand why God would take home a man at 57 years old who was living his life for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus so diligently. But God knows so much more than we ever could.
And we have begun to see a bit of His work already. In the new friendships that were made through the connection of remembering this amazing man. Through people being led to go out on the mission field who may not have been asked or thought of without this man's death. God in His infinite wisdom knew the work He wanted to accomplish through this man's death that must not have been possible without it.
Still, we grieve. But not without hope. And now with a greater purpose. Jesus said He must go, that it was better for the disciples, that they'd do greater works after He was gone, which they did.
I believe firmly this is also God's perfect plan now. That we can all reflect on this man's life and catch more greatly the fire he had for spreading the Gospel, for taking salvation through Christ to the world.
So, I am resisting stress as I push against my self-made but necessary deadline, knowing I could have been further along in my writing, and instead rejoicing in what God is doing and revealing.
{P.S. If you'd like to find out more about this great man, his life, and work, visit Day Worker Missions. If you'd like to support his family during this most difficult time, consider giving through my GoFundMe page.}
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