Plant the seed

"He who was seated on the throne said, “I AM MAKING EVERYTHING NEW!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5

How does one overcome grief and deep sorrow? Do you ever or does life just transform into a new existence?

I ran across this picture of my precious grandson this morning in my Facebook memories....as I did a post I had written ten days after my husband's death. Exactly one year apart. I looked at Peyton's sweet face and smiled and when I read my post and remembered my extreme grief, I cried. At the same time I felt joy and great sadness. My beloved, his Papa, would never know the baby God sent to mend our broken hearts in the middle of great loss.

My beautiful Peyton was born seven days after the first anniversary of my beloved's death. Grief and joy combined, drove the highs and lows of that first year as I watched my daughter's belly expand with new life. On that first anniversary our family gathered to remember the man we all missed so very much but we also rejoiced that in one week we would experience new birth and our family would grow by one to the former number we once were. Restoration. Though one never replaces another there is a supernatural, hard to explain "feeling" that, in a way, makes one feel a bit whole again.

GOD has that kind of power.

God has power beyond what we can comprehend. He can do immeasurably (no ability to measure) more than we can ask or imagine....and I experienced that power that year and in the years since. There was great joy in the midst of deep, deep sorrow. Only with God could they co-exist.

“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For FROM him and THROUGH him and FOR him are ALL things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."
Romans 11:34‭-‬36

Through him are ALL things. He desires to give us good things (Matthew 7)...but not in the way our humaness describes "good things".

Did you catch the other parts of that verse? FROM him, THROUGH him and FOR him... ALL glory TO him.

If you don't know Jesus.....it's likely you've heard about him. If you do not KNOW him it likely seems inconceivable that someone could believe or feel the very hand of God working in their lives. I can testify to it in the hope that others desire to experience it but I cannot box it up and sell it or even give it away. You have to experience it...you have to experience him. You have to KNOW him deeply and personally. Somehow God, in his sovereignty, works in and through us to GIVE us HIS desires for our hearts that align with his will for our life. It's true! The things I used to desire have lost their luster. They don't look as shiny as they used to. I don't have strong feelings about them. And sometimes the circumstances God allows in our lives helps us to realize that the things we hold so tightly don't have as much importance to which they've been given. When tragedy strikes and it will for most, I realize how little all the stuff means. And how, in the midst of that really hard stuff I begin to really WANT what HE wants for me.....I can't answer. But I can draw from the wisdom of scripture..... "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."(Psalms 37:4) HE WILL GIVE...not what I orchestrate on my own. And that happens and is the overflow of my delight in him.Though I desire to use many words (and I often do 🙄) to convince someone, I am simply a seed planter....I'm actually thankful that I am not the growth giver.

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
1 Corinthians 3:6‭-‬7

So thankful to not be responsible for the growth because being a planter is a huge responsibility in and of itself.

When I read the Word of God my heart actually jumps in my chest.
It's palpable!! So I say, when there is joy, read the Bible. When there is deep sorrow, read the Bible. When life is going along, read the Bible. When life seems unfair, read the Bible. When life is really, really good, read the Bible. Simply put, it IS the bread of LIFE.

Memories will hurt and memories will bring joy....

But alas, he is making everything new. This world isn't all there is if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior!

I love this beautiful passage of great promise, immense comfort and lasting assurance:

For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
1 Peter 1:24‭-‬25

If you know OF Jesus but you don't KNOW him....it IS the most important decision you can ever make. Eternal life, life beyond this broken, sad world is real! There's more than this! You don't have to live to die. No! You can live to LIVE!! FOREVER!!

The seed has been planted! May God give the growth. ❤️