First, let me apologize for this post being so late. I have been so excited about being able to post more than once an month and BOOM! The first chance I get, I blow it. Thank goodness, as I was driving to work this morning, I was going over my mental to-do list and it hit me. Was my Seeds post today or tomorrow? Oops! I think it was today. Man! I blew that all to pieces.

Well I have been trying to talk about missions the world over, and my next blog on here will be about that. But as I was trying to figure out what I could talk about in the interim, I want to tell you what is happening at our church. The devil is trying to devour us Christians, and we aren't standing for it!

I have a friend, whom I have known about 35 years. Her family started coming to church and we have grown up together. We really weren't friends as kids, because she is older and as children and teens go, four to six years of age difference is a lot of maturity time. But as young women, we have done what Christian sisters do, support each other. She got married, had kids, went to another church, came back. I got married, had kids, stayed at the same church. We both enjoyed church camp and being able to help kids. We both are very musically involved, she plays the piano wonderfully and I sing, so we have lots in common.

But since June, her world has been turned upside down. Her husband has been diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer and terrible things wrong with his spine. Her youngest child is six and she is now the sole bread winner in her household. I can relate to the cancer element of her stress but not exactly, because it was my dad last year who had Stage 3 cancer. Anyway, in the past month, her husband is so close to remission that they are now going to start testing to see if they can use his bone marrow to replace some of the bad.

So tomorrow my friend and her husband are driving from Ohio down to Florida to do the testing because the stupid insurance company won't do it here anywhere. She says if she has to be somewhere else during the holdiays, it might has well be somewhere warm. It's going to be a long couple days in a car, but I think the stress of leaving her family here is harder.

The past few Sundays at church have been very emotional for a lot of us. Our minister's family is going through a lot of medical problems, and it seems that every song that is sung is picked out and every word spoken, has a personal message for someone. The Lord is alive and well at our church. He is using all kinds of people, songs and messages to touch our lives.

Lately, my friend has not been able to sit through a service without her emotions getting the best of her. She says that at home, work, anywhere else she is fine. But she gets to church and the waterworks start. I think that is because she is busy and able to push a lot of her emotions out of the way. Then when she comes to church, she is quiet, listening and God starts relieving the stress and pent-up feelings. She is reminded that he loves her, that no matter what, she needs to focus on Him and remember that God loves her and he does know what is going on and he will be with them through this ordeal. He won't be through it until it gets good or bad, but he will see the family all the way through.


When we are busy dealing with the plans and details of our lives, it is easy to not worry about the emotions. We worry about everyone else. She is worried about their children, her husband, work, schedules, and can easily not deal openly with how her life has taken a frightening turn. The anger, denial, frustration, and hopelessness can all be pushed down until that moment you stop and take a moment for yourself. That's when your defenses come down, you allow your heart to break and you think about all that is happening. It could be good or bad and you have no control nor do you know the outcome. That is when faith and trust comes in. Trust God knows it all, what you are feeling, how you are dealing, and what will happen. Your faith may waiver under the weight of it all, but stand firm on your knees. God wants to hear it from you. He wants you to express your self to him. Besides, talking to someone always makes us feel better, doesn't it?

This always makes me think of Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;