Providence 365, Week 7

This post has been edited. For one thing, the verb "work" in the word illustration below has been changed from "work[ed]" back to "work." This is because it dawned on me that the word is not in the past tense. It is something that continues to happen daily.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

This was the verse that was given to us this week to utilize in a picture layout or journal page. I will not be submitting any pictures, choosing to journal my thoughts instead. I prayed all week about this and this is what I felt the Lord would want me to tell you about how this verse has impacted my life.

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This verse is so maligned. It evokes images of meaningless comfort in times of grief. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This verse is a cause for celebration!

And it is meant to bring delight!

This verse is one that takes many Christians mentally to places that they don't want to go. It has become a pariah, an equivalent of the "Please Don't Send Me to Africa" song. It is such a shame, too, because it is plopped squarely among other verses that few notice: verses about hope, about not being separated from the love of God, about being conquerors.

But few see this verse in context. They are too worried about what kind of "all things" this verse might mean for them. They do not trust God with their "all things."

I see these verses, including verse 28, differently. They are part of a love letter from the lover of my soul. He tells me that it will be okay. It will ALL be okay.

I'm going to tell you a little story and I want you to see the celebration instead of the tragedy. I don't want you to "feel [my] pain." I want you to shout "Hallelujah!" to the one who kisses all my wounds and makes everything better. If you can't do that, then stop reading and come back another day.

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My hair fell out when I was 36 years old. I will always remember that Sunday morning in the shower when much of my crowning glory lay on the tiles at my feet. My first thought was, "It's Sunday. What am I supposed to do now?" because I was due at church in less than an hour. I spent most of that hour crying before going anyway.

This was not the first time that I'd had problems but it was definitely the worst. It had begun when I was 29 years old and had suffered through a difficult pregnancy. And the chickenpox. And almost losing the 10-month-old Princess to a spider bite.

The day after my shower episode we went to a center where cancer patients go to feel beautiful again. We bought my first wig. And I cried again for about another hour.

Now I want you to concentrate on the celebration. Here is how "all things work together for good to [me] that love[s] God, . . ." The Lord has taught me many things through this experience. Here are just a few:

• Those who love me do not care what I look like. They love me anyway. This includes my husband, my parents, my children, and my friends. Those who do not love me would not love me anyway.
• It's. Just. Hair. Meaning, I don't have a major illness. But in recent years I've been given many opportunities to comfort cancer victims experiencing the effects of chemo because I'm someone who can empathize with the hair loss part of their trauma.
• I have a better understanding of what it means to have my imperfections covered because of the gift of another. I have real hair because someone donated it (probably at a price) so that I can look presentable to other people. I wear a robe of righteousness because Someone donated Himself (definitely at a price) so that I can look presentable to God.

I'm still learning new things through something that most people would call a tragedy but which that I've come to think of as a blessing.

And by the way, some of the happiest missionaries I know serve on the field in Africa.  There really is nothing to fear when God is in control of the "all things."