Afflictions and Love Letters

 

**Gifted to me by my church at the Spring Ladies Tea**

As Christians we know that God is for us and is not against us.  We know that He is our protector and our provider: that our days are in His sovereign Hands. 

And yet somedays He gives us glimpses into exactly how He is working on our behalf, most of the time when we are completely clueless about it all. 

At around 9:30pm yesterday my husband called me to ask me to pick him and our daughter up at youth, where our "running-by-God's-mercy" car had left him sitting.  When he described what happened, I immediately felt like I had just received a love letter from my heavenly Father.  Let me explain.

Husband drove this car on the crazy, high speed interstates of our city yesterday, 25 miles to an interview and 25 miles back and then drove 30 more minutes to youth group.  As he was backing out slowly to leave the church parking lot, THIS happened.  I shutter to think of what would have been the story if this had happened only a few short hours and several miles earlier.  When he arrived home, I just held him and wept.  I cried because I knew God had shown an exorbitant amount of mercy and love to me and our family.  I told him, "It feels like a love letter from the Lord!"

Today as we have work through one challenge after another, I just keep thinking about His vast, undeserved LOVE for me.  That has led me to meditate on all the love letters in the midst of our afflictions the last four months.  

I know I have done so poorly at keeping our readers updated.  For that I am sorry.  On the days I had a moment to post, I honestly didn't even know where to begin...or end.  It has been a ride.  From Decemeber 12, 2024, the date of surgery #1, until now, May 1, 2025, it has felt like one thing after another.  Even last night my husband looked at me with a wry smile and said, "It's just one thing after another for us, isn't it?" And YET, GOD.  "Love letter" after love letter has been revealed and sent to us in the middle of the storms.  Let me list a few of those "letters":

1. Monetary gifts from all over the USA and even other countries, some from people we hardly know.

2. Our church family has visited, brought us meals and groceries, sent cards and texts, taken our children on amazing outings, taken us out to eat (a huge treat for us these days!), handed us gift cards for groceries and kept daughter and I busy with baking orders...the list goes on and on and ON.

3. My parents spent the month of March here, celebrating our daughter's 15th birthday, enjoyed our son's Spring break with him, did my "Daddy-do list" plus some and just loved on us in a myriad of ways.

4. Family visited from Ohio: our children had never spent any time together and they all had a wonderful time.  We all did.  My love bucket was overflowing at the end our short weekend together.

5. Last week my dear friend from Canada came for a few days.  28 years ago we met as 19 year old freshman students at Prairie Bible College in Alberta, Canada.  How humbled and grateful I am for these friendships that span decades now.

Reinacting a picture of the two of us from nearly 30 years ago!!!

  









6. God's beautiful care of my husband as he went through four surgeries in 14 weeks: 2 major, routine surgeries followed by 2 minor to repair non-healing incision sites. Losing his job in the middle of these physical afflictions has felt somedays like just too much for him.  But God.  We look at each often and remind ourselves of this truth: only God can help us now.  As much as our families and friends would love to take our burdens away, it is our heavenly Father who has ordained the details of our present situation in a way that HE WILL GET ALL THE GLORY AND HONOR!!!



We still don't have a job offer, our car is at the mechanic as I write.  Our kids are both facing significant schooling changes at the end of summer.  We are literally living one day at a time, watching the Lord provide our daily bread.  

And we are SO loved.  Cared for.  Blessed. His love letters just keep coming, the most vital to our days is His Word.  It becomes more precious to us as this season contines.  If you want a sweet reminder of how good a God we serve, and how afflictions and trials are actually PROOF of that, read the little book pictured above.  The author expounds so well on Romans 8:28.

I just read it while laying flat on my back last weekend with back pain that took my breath away but allowed me lots of time to read and pray as I rested and recuperated.  I believe it will bless your heart as it did mine.  Oh how great His love for us is, that we should be called His children.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you...and give you peace.

Because He lives,
Jama 

PS I am aware that this blog post is not beautifully aligned or presented.  I don't have the bandwidth to fuss with my website today but wanted to share what is on my heart.  Hopefully you can figure out which picture goes with which paragraph.  I will try better next time!