Do you really trust in all things?

Alrighty...here goes....


So my mother told me last night that my great aunt Jo has breast cancer. Apparently Jo has know for about 4 months and didn't say a word to anyone. This would be her mamma bear side of not wanting to cause anyone more pain than needed. She is going to have an operation with in the next week and then they will be able to see how far along it is. My mom seems to think that it is probably pretty far along, but we won't know for sure until they go in and investigate.


When my mom called and told me last night, I didn't get cry or get upset in the slightest. Some might think that I am a hard hearted person for not reacting like that. When my grandmother died suddenly, I didn't get upset or cry initially either. It wasn't until later after everyone had left did I let the information sink in. I feel that it is much the same way with my great aunt. We don't know how much it has progressed yet, so I'm not going to start worrying until we do find out. I am increadibly aware how upsetting it is to my aunt Dana (Jo's daughter), cousin Ashley and Ryan (Jo's grandkids), and my mother. I feel that God is just asking me to be a comforter. I love Jo a lot too. But for some reason I just have a peace about the situation for the time being. All I know to do is to just trust my heavenly Father to use this situation for the greater good. This may be a way He can touch the hearts of my family members and form a greater bond with them. I find that it is when we are put through trying times that we rely on Him more. It should be Him we always turn to first, but majority of the time we turn to ourselves to fix things. With that method we just make matters worse.


In a connecting note, this reminds me of a new favorite novel, Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. In the book a young boy is constantly asking his grandfather what Christ really meant when he said, "Ask and ye shall receive". The boy pointed out that he could ask for a thousand dollars and Christ didn't give it to him. Towards the end of the novel, the grandfather finally has an answer for his grandson, which I love:


He says "Well'm, faith ain't no magic wand or money-back gar'ntee, either one.....Hit means you go'n be holdin' on to God in good or bad times, and you accept whatever happens. Hit means you respect life like it is---like God made it---even when it ain't what you'd order from the wholesale house. Faith don't mean the Lord is go'n make lions lay down with lambs jest cause you ast him to, or make fire not burn. Some folks, when they pray to git well and don't even git better, they say God let'm down. But I say thet warn't even what Jesus was a-talkin' bout. When Jesus said ast and you'll git it, He was givin' a gar'nree a-spiritual healin' not body healin'. He was sayin' thet if'n you git beat down---scairt to death you cain't do what you got to, or scairt you go'n die, or scairt folks won't like you---why, all you got to do is put yore hand in God's and He'll lift you up. I know it for a fact, Love. I can pray, 'Lord, hep me not be scairt,' and I dont know how, but it's like a eraser wipes the fears away. And I found out long time ago, when I look on what I got to stand as a dang hardship or a burden, it seems too heavy to carry. But when I look on the same dang thang as a challenge, why, standin' it or acceptin' it is like you done entered a contest. Hit even gits excitin', waitin' to see how everthang's go'n turn out......Jesus meant us to ast God to hep us stand the pain, not beg Him to take the pain away. We can ast for comfort and hope and patience and courage, and to be gracious when thangs ain't goin' our way, and we'll git what we ast for. They ain't no gar'ntee thet we ain't go'n have no troubles and aint go'n die. But shore as frogs croak and cows bellow, God'll forgive us if'n we ast Him to."


I just think that there is so much truth in that. God has tried to tell us numerous times in His word and in our daily lives that our spiritual well being is much more important that the physical time we have on this earth. We can enjoy the time we have to the fullest, but because of sin entering into the world, we have to accept the fact that hardships, disease, and death are apart of that life now. God didn't make the hardships, disease or death-sin created that. Sin's greatest accomplishment is breaking relationships: between God and man and also man and man. There is a peace that God brings that "surpasses all understanding". And it's true. There is nothing like it in this world. We should ask for the things of a spiritual nature, not the physical nature. As I'm running out of battery on my laptop...I hope that you will ponder on these things and think about what that means in your own lives.