Astonished . . .
I just finished reading an excellent book, Astonished: Recapturing the Wonder, Awe, and Mystery of Life with
God. In this book, Pastor Mike Erre sets out to explain why God's children suffer, and does so without shallow explanations or attempting to fit God into a nicely packaged box.
What do we do when we follow him [God] and it doesn’t work out the way we planned? Where else are we going to go? What happens when our biggest fears come true, and we find out the presence of God isn’t found in the absence of suffering and disappointment but in the midst of
them?
As many of you know, my husband, Bob, suffered a traumatic brain injury 3.5
years ago. It has been a long and difficult journey. Bob continues to improve,
yet he is still severely disabled, particularly in his speech, comprehension,
and reasoning skills. In the beginning of this journey, during the darkest
days, the idea of walking away from my faith was unimaginable; where would I go, to whom would I turn? But the doubts were all
encompassing. Why would God, who loves us, allow such a disaster to befall our family? We were serving God faithfully, as best we knew how, yet there we were, devastated, knocked down, and
despairing, seemingly without hope! Where were those angels to keep Bob's feet from slipping?
Wasn't that a promise from God? Why did this happen?! The answers didn't come quickly,
yet, over the past 3.5 years, God has proven himself faithful in a multitude of
ways---in the midst of our suffering---and he has shown me some of the "whys" this happened to us.
I am so thankful for those of you who have prayed for us! The
prayers of God's saints have sustained us. "Astonished . . . " fleshes out some of what I've discovered about suffering. It is a really good read and worth your time! Check it
out, below!
I hope you are having a great summer. Take time to
read and study, so as to be better equipped to serve the children in your
ministry!
