Two weeks ago, Friday, March 7th, marked the 9 year anniversary of God calling my Mother home to be with Him. He knew in his omniscience that she had completed all He had for her to do. I can honestly give thanks that the Lord saw fit for me to be my mother's daughter, even though only for a few short years. (13).
Through her death, he has taught me much, and continues to do so. As a young teen, he taught me mostly about trusting in His sovereign plan and about His comfort through the Holy Spirit. I believe I can understand why those without Christ in their lives are driven to extremes when faced with the loss of loved ones. I however, was comforted by my heavenly Father. Without his love, my life at that time would have been dreary.
As I grew older, God continued to show me more 'reasons' for the trial. Through my years in college, he has granted me with friends who also have lost parents. Some before we met and others after. And at those times, I was thankful for II Corinthians 1 and the verses there which confirm that if we suffer, we will be comforted, and we are to use that comfort that we received to comfort others.
Through every trial, God is to receive Glory. In the Gospel of John, Christ's disciples, when coming upon a blind man, asked Jesus who sinned; The man, or his parents. Jesus response shows his heart in all things. (vs 9) "...Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."
Through all of this learning, one verse has been a constant encouragement to me. It applies not only to the 'big' trials of life, but all the littler seemingly insignificant things, as included in the word ALL
I Peter 5:7
Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.
Although I sometimes do not understand all that He is working in my life, I can rest in this promise from my God. "He cares for [me]." As a result, I can 'cast all my cares upon Him'! He has been faithful to me and in return, how can I not cling to him as the solid rock and foundation of my life?
Phillip and Helaine
- Helaine DeMarte
- My husband and I are currently living in Northern Minnesota, working at his home church. We are appointees to France with Biblical Ministries Worldwide and looking to starting deputation soon.
2 comments:
Beautiful, encouraging and so nice read. Thanks so much Helaine. You even taught me things through your testimony. :-)
helaine,
i love what you wrote. what an encouragement it is to hear you put your thoughts into words. i remember those days at camp when we'd go down to the dock and stick our feet in the water and just talk all afternoon. i always got the chills when so much of our lives matched :)
i love you lots!!!
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