He Sees

I really thought we made it through this season of memories pretty easily. I had a few tough days, and even though I had to work on December 22nd, I made it through full of peace. We enjoyed Christmas and we are about to celebrate New Year’s!

I’ve seen a few tears from Noah, but I kinda contribute it to hormones...12 is rough (I’m gonna go ahead and start praying now for when the girls hit this age!)  As he experienced another round of emotions last night, I see that it’s not just hormones, that boy has real memories and pain that he keeps on shoving down because they hurt too much.  Of course counselor mommy can’t handle the stuffing of emotions, so we’ve been digging.  Besides the hurt, he still questions God.  Why mom, why Ellie, why couldn’t He just heal her?  

This morning as I tried to find scripture for him (which Noah now says he always knows that’s what I’m going to do, because he’s lived with me for 12 years and he knows that’s what I do....know-it-all), I turned to the names of God. 

I’ve been working on a scripture writing challenge from Coffee With Starla all about the Names of God, so all these names for God are fresh in my mind. As I found what I wanted for him, I started to think of numerous other people I know who are struggling with one thing or another and thought, maybe this is something I could share with others. 

The God who sees. When things hurt like the death of your sister, or whatever you are experiencing, it’s easy to wonder “Does God even see me right now? Does He know how much this hurts?” Proverbs 15:3 tells us He sees everything, the good and the bad.  So as I went to write this out for Noah, I tried to think like Noah, “if God sees it all, why doesn’t He stop the bad stuff, why does He let me suffer?” 

It doesn’t do us much good to know that God sees everything, unless we have some kind of encouragement for the future.  So I went to my two favorites. Both of these verses talk about present sufferings and troubles...the ones we know God sees and allows to happen, the ones that hurt and cause chaos, death, frustration, pain, separation. As horrible as these sufferings seem, they can’t even be compared to the glory that is coming!  These troubles are the things we must go through to get where we are going, heaven!  

There’s this road on the way to Richard’s parents house that is horribly twisty and tiny.  My father in law always jokes that someone must have been drinking when they made that road.  It reminds me of these verses.  I’m sure because of property lines and right of way and whatever other rules there are about roads, someone had to design that road that way. I can’t possibly know all the reasons and definitely can’t see all the underground things that cause that road to be crazy, but it gets me where I’m going. I have to take that road if I want to visit my in laws. 

After the feelings all spill out, you’ve had your good cry, told God what hurts...I challenge you to sit with these two verses.  Do you believe them? Do you think that all that happens is for nothing, we just live in a world that eventually ends and that’s it?  Or do you believe that one day we will live in eternity with the God who loves us. Who sees all that we go through and gives us peace to just trust Him. That one day, it won’t hurt anymore and all those temporary troubles won’t even exist in our minds anymore.  We will live in eternity with the one who created it all.  <—— those thoughts right there, are what see me through. 

It’s the end of 2020.   As we head into 2021, choose to see, that He sees, He knows, and what you are going through matters, it will get you where you are headed...eternal Glory!

If there is a struggle I could pray for for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Prayer, Praise and Pink

~ Carly