Covid Likely Saved Her Life!

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16

 

Today we are leaving our son’s home and driving to visit our former Kentucky Pastor Rick’s widow, Linda who moved to Alabama recently. Some of you have met her. She came to surprise me for my 50th birthday and joined us at Group a couple years back. She’s been the best friend of my life. After her husband battled liver cancer for 3 short years, there was little room for her to grieve his death because she was constantly comforting others. Just 18 months later the pandemic hit and she did everything she could to avoid it. Covid was extra complicated for her and she developed pneumonia and blood clots. It was frustrating to have an extended recovery, but, it turned out that catching Covid very likely saved her life. Praise God! Learn more of the story below.

 

You can READ the story here. Or watch videos HERE and/or HERE.

 

It’s been a great blessing to have a short visit with our son, his wife and our granddaughter, Margo Rey. She turned 3 and is such a sweet heart. She’s “Poppa’s gurl”. It’s the first birthday we’ve been able to spend with her. Please pray with us as we travel back to Houston tomorrow (it’ll be more than 10 hours of driving). We’ll be driving as Chris is blessed to bring back his dad’s car. It’ll be a daily reminder of the grief that is yet to be journeyed through from losing his dad at the end of March. We were able to spend 24 hours with Chris’ brother, Tim and his wife as they stayed in town and went to church with us Sunday. We are beyond blessed at the life God has called us to with LIFT in Texas and yet we will feel sadness as we leave Kentucky again. Such a grand mixture of feelings. 

 

“Why love, if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore: only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I’ve been given the choice: as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal... 

It is because God loves us that he makes us the gift of suffering. Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. You see, we are like blocks of stone out of which the sculptor carves the forms of men. The blows of his chisel, which hurt us so much, are what make us perfect.” From Shadowlands about C.S. Lewis

 

*Taken from LIFT weekly email.

Mother's Day 2022

 Mother’s Day is typically difficult for me. My mom died suddenly when I was 33. She was 56. This year was no exception. This one surprised me. It was on a single digit day for one. So, it was earlier than “normal.” Typically on Sunday mornings Chris and I wake up and get to church around the same time, but this year he was serving in the tech department. So, he had to be at church earlier leaving me at home alone. I felt alone from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. But, in my alone I also felt very tenderly held... As if the Lord was reminding me that He knew I was hurting. I began to wonder how I was going to hold it together to make it through serving in the nursery and then attending worship while receiving all the “Happy Mother’s Days” that would gently be tossed to me... because they would be received very differently than they were sent. I don’t know how to turn off the magnifier. So, I reached out to two close friends and just let them know that I spent the last hours paralyzed. 

 

After I had a quick breakfast and left for church the Lord started showing me how much He had prepared for me in the day. As soon as I walked in the back door at church Chris was there to greet me with a sweet “good morning”. Then I was greeted by the new Student Ministry staff guy who gently tossed me the first audible “Happy Mother’s Day” with a spring in his step as we crossed paths down the back hallway. I confidently said, “thank you” and kept walking. I took about half a dozen steps past him and he called back, “Jen, how are you doing today?” I had to stop and turn around to answer him. “I’m okay. Mother’s Day is hard for me. But, I’m okay. Do I look sad?” He said I didn’t, but I made a note that he’s a very discerning person whether he read it on my face or the Holy Spirit prompted him to ask. Regardless I received the message through him that the Lord knew I was having a rough day and He was gonna light my day up with sweet reminders. 

 

As the morning unfolded, I received cards from people who were not connected in any way (other than Jesus & our church) with paragraphs of handwritten affirmations. It seemed like someone had sent out a notice that I needed encouragement, but they hadn’t. Only the Lord could have prompted their hearts in these ways. I got to pick where Chris & I went to lunch and what we did all afternoon (thrift shops & movie). As the sun was setting I was wheeling our clean laundry back to the bedroom to put it away and start into the new week and joked that he could come help me. Chris jumped right in and we got it done in half the time with twice the fun. It was my YES DAY and I didn’t even know it. The Lord went before me. He knew I was caught off guard and struggling. He protected and provided for me in ways I didn’t even know what or how to ask for. So, Mother’s Day 2022 goes down as a year the Lord blessed me greatly and heard my cries and I noticed. 

 

Sometimes my soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning. And I somehow completely miss it. I miss Him. I don’t recognize it for what it is. Sometimes I try to take care of it myself. What about you? When did you last find yourself paralyzed by busyness, fear, grief, confusion, frustration, the struggle, temptation, and etc...? What did you do to get out of your paralysis? How did the Lord meet you in those moments? How did you meet the Lord in those moments? Take a moment now to remember and praise Him.

 

I’m seeing a theme the last few months... “for with the Lord there is steadfast love.” So very thankful that He is so patient and near and steadfast.

 

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Psalm 130