Yesterday was a struggle for me. Mondays usually are. Mondays are like that demanding kid on the playground in 5th grade that controlled the Monkey Bars and refused to let me climb on them. As I knelt beside my bed to talk with God, I felt the sting of hot tears rolling down my cheeks. With a family my size, there is always joy and sorrow, it just goes hand in hand. Someone is on the mountain top and someone is in the valley. Someone is disconnected and someone is tremendously a part of the group.
For the past 7 years I’ve prayed the same prayer – over and over. I’ve prayed it in different ways; rephrasing my words; thinking of new ways to explain it; reminding God that it is still hurtful. It is still something that needs to happen…God?
Maybe you know too what it is like. Hebrews 4:13 tells us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” And so, if nothing is hidden from Him then He knows exactly what you and I are experiencing.
I have a song that I sing to my grandchildren. It is an original – coined a “NoraBop.” The song is about waiting. And not just waiting, but waiting patiently. Ahhhh the patiently part is tough.
The bottom line is God hears every prayer; feels every tear; understands every hurt; and He hurts right along with us. God, too, has many children – more than I can even imagine. He understands what it is like to have children at all different stages with joyful celebrations and painful journeys.
One of my favorite people is in ICU – complications after childbirth. Today, I thought of her smile and the pure joy which came from her whenever she walked into my office. To know she is struggling breaks my heart. The roller coaster of life seems more than bearable at times. We live in a world of heartache but the beautiful part is God is faithful, loving, kind, and in control. While we do not understand why things happen the way that they do, it is reassuring that we’re never alone. He is always with us.
Sometimes He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want; but He does hear us. Sometimes bad things do happen; but He is right beside us.
Psalm 139:2-4 reassures us, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.”
