God Helps Give Us Faith in the Middle of the Story - What She Said Part 14 - Week 1 Day 7

TODAY'S TREASURE

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Transcript

God Helps Give Us Faith in the Middle of the Story

Marissa Bondurant, Guest Writer

Today’s Treasure

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

In the beginning of February 2020, I went for a final ultrasound to make sure my fourth baby was growing as expected and ready for delivery. Our cancer survivor was only 11 months off treatment and had finally been approved to go to school. She was enjoying being a “normal” kindergartener, and we were all excited to become a family of six.

Once the ultrasound was completed, I met my midwife in a private exam room. She came in, closed the door, and sat down with a serious look on her face. She told me they had found a mass in the baby’s abdomen, and I needed to see a specialist as soon as possible.

Part of me wanted to laugh at her. Surely, this was a joke. God wouldn’t do this to us. Another mass? In another of my precious children? 

Our fourth daughter was born at the end of February 2020, and her medical journey began. As the rest of the world shut down, our family ramped up. Not only were we dealing with all the (good but hard) upheaval a newborn brings, but now we were trying to navigate medical appointments for two children in a climate when everything was cloaked with an additional layer of fear and stress.

For the next three years, we rode a rollercoaster. Nothing was straightforward. Our baby ended up needing surgery for her abdomen and then her eyes. Our older children were struggling with wave upon wave of trauma. We got several mental health diagnoses for one of our kids who needed medication and interventions to help her function. We had to switch up our education plans multiple times. We kept adding specialists to our phone book. I wanted so desperately for God to wrap up this season of caregiving with a neat bow. I wanted my daughters to be healthy and whole. I wanted to catch my breath and stop living on the adrenaline of crisis.  

But God wanted to teach me about faith in the middle of all this. 

Not the naïve faith that believes it’ll all work out the way we want. Nor the defeated faith of assuming God will do whatever He wants anyway, so why bother Him with our requests? But that messy faith that all caregivers walk in – where we have to weave in and out of hope and cling all the harder to what we know is true. 

In those years, I could imagine the life of an Israelite mother gathering manna day after day (Exodus 16). She didn’t know what was ahead for her children, she simply had to wake up every day and trust that God would provide.

God was faithful to her. God is faithful to me. And God will be faithful to you.

Day after day, we wake up and have to choose where to turn our eyes. Will we look anxiously ahead, or will we call to mind the steadfast love of the Lord? Will we crawl under the covers with anxiety or let the Lord clothe us with His mercy and faithfulness?

In the middle of the story, it helps to remember what God has done in the past, what is true of us today, and what God has promised for the future.

May you have strength in the middle of your caregiving story to grasp the depth of God’s love and see how He is caring for you.

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

Make three columns. In the first column, list what God has done for you in the past. In the second column, list all of the ways you see God caring for you in your current season. In the third column, list some of the promises God has made in His Word concerning your future. Keep these lists to reference during the difficult days of caregiving. 

PRAYER

Father God, thank You that You are the same God yesterday, today and tomorrow. Your holiness means that You are worthy of my praise whether it’s a good day or a bad day. Your faithfulness, kindness, mercy, and love mean that I can trust You no matter what today brings. When it becomes too difficult for me to cling to You, help me see that by Your grace, You are holding fast to me. In all my caregiving, please help me to see that You are my perfect Caregiver. In Jesus Name.  Amen.