Mid-Week Message - Examples of Faith

Life can be hard.  I know that isn't exactly a news flash to anyone.  We all have our moments of struggle.  Sort of like breathing in and out, most of us have hard times but then "catch our breath" and things are better for awhile.  But for others, such as those with chronic diseases, the struggle comprises every moment of every day.  They don't get to put those issues behind them, ever. Because I haven't spoken with either of them I will not use their real names, but I want to tell you a little about two people who have graced our lives.

Joanna has muscular dystrophy.  Her parents were told when she was very young that they should make their memories because she wouldn't live long.  Now in her mid-twenties, She has earned her Master's degree and is a licensed professional social worker who strives to help others with disabilities.  She has a boyfriend and goes where she wants despite being confined to a wheelchair. She has very little ability to move her body on her own, so her family or her boyfriend help with almost everything.  You would think that she would have every reason to feel sorry for herself, but she doesn't.  She is grateful for every single moment she has and makes the most of her life.  She is joyful.  Always joyful.  She was raised by God-fearing Christian parents who live their faith openly and boldly and they taught her that life is a gift.

Randa, who recently passed away, was born with dwarfism.  Standing at only three feet tall as an adult, she was one of the tallest people I have every known.  Though being in constant pain, she was always smiling and spent her life loving and encouraging others.  Never complaining, she lived each day with dignity and a grace that is rarely seen.  Though needing physical help herself, she would be one of the first to volunteer if anyone needed assistance and would do anything she could to help. She was a person who found beauty in every person and God's hand in every situation she found herself in.  I believe she had a relationship with the Father that most of us will never know.  I can find no other explanation for the deep faith she had in Him.  Life was precious to her and when she passed there was a deep chasm left in the lives of those of us who knew and loved her.

I share these stories today because it is so easy to feel sorry for ourselves when we are in difficult situations.  We wonder where God has gone when He seems not to answer our prayers immediately. Rather than finding the joy in the gifts of each day, we find ourselves wallowing in self pity and lose sight of the blessings of the moment.  Blessings such as the realization that our families and friends love us and will get down on their knees to intercede for us.  What we can learn from Joanna and Randa is that God is always near and that His love is great enough to carry us through any circumstance of life.  If they can have joy and faith with what they have had to contend with, then surely we also can.

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."