God is Good...All the time...a lesson for all of us.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." -- 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10

I have a friend who is one of the hardest working, kind hearted, strong yet sweet souls I have ever known. She used to work for me. When I first met her she was very young with two small boys. She was always trying to get their dead beat Dad to pay her child support. She struggled daily to meet their needs, working harder than any single young mother I knew.

As time went on, she met a great man who loved her boys, they got married, and she got pregnant. Everything seemed to finally be going her way. A few weeks before she was to deliver their baby, tragedy struck. Her 29 year old husband had a massive stroke and was on the edge of death. While he was fighting for his life in one hospital, she was giving birth to their baby, alone in another. I remember thinking how incredibly unfair it all was and wondering why such a sweet person like her had to go through all this. She, however, always remained strong and I couldn't understand what kept her going.

She had an infant and a husband suffering all the physical conditions of a stroke patient, both needing constant care. She had to return to work to support the family yet still she was strong and positive. I couldn't believe it.

As the years went on, she continued to support and love her family. Her husband will likely never work again. She worked very hard and moved up in our company, despite not having the college degree. Things were looking up. She bought a home of her own and was so proud.

Then, our company downsized, she lost her job and her insurance, which as you can guess was much needed given her husbands condition. However, with her usual strength and determination she trudged on and overcame.

She has a new job, a new home and was pregnant again. Things were going well. Two days ago, she lost the baby. I will tell you honestly, when I heard that news, I actually prayed to God and asked "What more can you do to that poor girl? She is the dearest, kindest person I know and you keep heaping it on her. Please give her a rest, can't you find someone who deserves the pain and give it to them!"

Later that night, I was flipping through my bible. I will write things in the margin when I hear or see something that strikes me or explains a verse I don't understand. As I was flipping, I landed on 2 Corinthians 4, and I had written in the margin "deepest suffering defined as "light affliction" - nothing compared to what we WILL receive." Wow, with my friends seemingly unending trials on my mind, God had taken me right to what I needed to see.
I read Chapter 4 which ends as follows....

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -- 2 Corinthians 4: 17-18

I read that and understood. While we don't always understand God's methods or why he seems to give some people more than most of us could handle, He does have a reason. What we see is our temporary circumstance. What we don't see are the rewards that will come from these circumstances.

As a non-believer, it was always easy to say "If God was really all they say, He would never allow bad things to happen to good people." I actually used to think God didn't have any hand in our living. He just put us her to live out our lives without his interference.

I know now, my friend finds her strength in the Lord and Savior. She has an understanding that all things work for good. Her faith is strong.

I am sure she has struggled with the whys, we all do. But through her faith in God she sets an example for those of us who watch her in sheer amazement. She may not know that her example shines God's light to those of us who watch her overcome, but God does. Her faith has strengthened mine and she is surely storing up treasures in heaven.

Lord, thank you for giving me the opportunity to see your faithfulness at work. While we don't always understand why things happen, through you, we can understand there is an unseen purpose and if we remain faithful, those unseen glories will be revealed to us. Lord, bless my friend and give her the peace of knowing her example touches lives and changes hearts. Bless her and give her peace. Amen