Wednesday, April 21, 2010

this too shall pass

so things have been up and down. more down than up in this turbulent time of life with a child in the NICU, but God continues to sustain us. i try to remember to take each day, not even day by day anymore, but more 5 minutes at a time. in difficult times, life seems to be much more managable when you approach it in those increments. i love reading the posts on facebook and the continued commitment to pray for us and for gavin. one particular comment on tracee's page came from one of her teacher friends that i loved reading. she told us that she just kept having this reoccuring theme: this too shall pass.
it was so timely for tracee and i, and a fantastic reminder of the cyclical nature of life. there are peaks and valleys. there are extreme highs and devastating lows. for most of our marriage, we have experienced some real adversity. you might be thinking "most of their marriage? they haven't even been married that long!" and you are correct! we have experienced several hospital stays, a house move, a job change for me, financial difficulties and of course; an ongoing trauma with our first child...all in the past 10 months. counselors say that any one of these things can be huge stressors in life and we've had em all. So, due to the cyclical nature of life, we are anticipating that year 2 will be phenomenal!
ok, so as i was meditating sunday afternoon on what tracee and i have gone through over our short but never-a-dull-moment marriage, i came back to that wonderful reminder that this too shall pass.
i had tickets with some guys at work to go to the suns first playoff game on sunday night, so i made the determination that i should go and try and get some normalcy back. so i headed to the game. as we got settled in, i noticed that there was no one sitting in front of me. i didn't think much about it, other than i thought it was great that at a playoff game that should be completely sold out - no one was there to block my view. as the game went on and the suns struggled i started to people watch a bit. i happened to notice a girl 2 rows in front of me with a tattoo across her shoulders. it said something but i couldn't make it out as her hair was covering most of it. as the game progressed, i began to see that the first word said "this" and then that the last word became visible as "pass".
ok, i'm real intrigued now. i honestly don't think i could tell you much of what the 3rd quarter looked like as i attempted to decode the rest of this tattoo. i became pretty convinced as her hair would move from side to side that this girl's message to me said: this too shall pass. sure enough, it did. i couldn't believe it! of all the people who could sit 2 rows in front of me in a huge arena, this girl does. in a sold out game, nobody sat in front of me so that i could see this girl's back. at this point i was texting tracee to tell her what was happening, but i really wanted a good picture of the whole thing so i could show her and encourage her but her hair was in the way and had been the whole game. as i pulled my phone out to take the best picture i could, she reached her hand around her head and pulled her hair in front of her shoulder; out of the way. it was amazing. here it is...



God delivered a message to me using these 2 women. there is no such thing as a coincidence. God is good. He knew i needed to hear and see that. God may not speak audibly as in the Old Testament times, but He certainly spoke through these circumstances. i hope you find this as encouraging as we did!

jeramy

10 comments:

  1. Looks like God wanted to tell you something important. Amazing how God uses strangers to speak to us sometimes. Your son will pull through this soon, just keep trusting God!

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  2. This is exactly the way our God works!! He is awesome! Do not let the world tell you otherwise! God knows our hearts so personally...and He has all the resources to minister to us when we need it the most. Thank you two for being so open and sharing your pain with us! All who read are being challenged...

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  3. This was not coincidence! Hold onto those words because they are directly from God. Here is the poem where those words originated.

    This Too Shall Pass

    If I can endure for this minute
    Whatever is happening to me,
    No matter how heavy my heart is
    Or how dark the moment may be-

    If I can remain calm and quiet
    With all the world crashing about me,
    Secure in the knowledge God loves me
    When everyone else seems to doubt me-

    If I can but keep on believing
    What I know in my heart to be true,
    That darkness will fade with the morning
    And that this will pass away, too-

    Then nothing in life can defeat me
    For as long as this knowledge remains
    I can suffer whatever is happening
    For I know God will break all of the chains

    That are binding me tight in the darkness
    And trying to fill me with fear-
    For there is no night without dawning
    And I know that my morning is near.

    ...Helen Steiner Rice

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  4. God is so AMAZING!! Thank you for sharing this.

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  5. Remember the Footprints poem, how the man turned and saw one set of prints in the sand during his toughest trials in life. He is letting you know that you are in His arms, just as Gavin is in His, as well. There is a song that I have heard in church...
    Close as tomorrow,
    the sun shall appear,
    Freedom is coming,
    and healing is near,
    And I shall be with you,
    in laughter and pain,
    To stand in the wind,
    and walk in the Reign,
    To walk in the Reign.
    Keep listening, God is always there!

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  6. John and I celebrated our 36th anniversary today. "This too shall pass" has proven to be so true through the years of our journey. If you ever get the chance, read the little book "Hinds Feet on High Places". What a treasure! Our prayers are with you!

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  7. Wow, I do appreciate you sharing this and all of your blogs. God is always talking, but many times we aren't still enough to listen.I am so proud of you for listening and being still enough to hear him, this message that was right in front of you. Keep listening. You are inspiring people all around with your blogs and committed faithfulness. God Bless all of you and I can't wait to meet Gavin your precious one.

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  8. I am in tears at this very moment. Our god is so good. I can’t believe she pulled her hair back right as you took the picture. Amazing!! God... we love you so much. Baby Gavin we love you little fighter!! :)

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  9. Amazing! God uses every opportunity to speak...AND He has a sense of humor! Your faith is being tested and strengthened, and Gavin is God's perfect creation!

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