The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:25-26)
I’m sharing the picture above because I don’t think anyone can fully appreciate a present moment without acknowledging how difficult the past moments were. I look back to see how bad it was so I can appreciate how good it is now.
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. (Psalm 105:1-4)
This week, I’m taking the time to look back over the last five months since my dad’s motorcycle accident. I have been quite emotional this last week thinking about the events from these last few months. I can’t even explain to you how difficult they have been and how much I have had to depend on the Lord. Even as I write this, I sit here in tears. There is nothing easy about this storm, but that’s part of why I feel I need to write about it. I need to declare the goodness of God through this. His faithfulness is steady and sure! He has been God all the way through this from the first day of the accident until now. I’m grateful that He has not left His throne but that He continues His incredible work even through the most difficult times.
…He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)
Today, September 17th, as I write this I’m thinking about the storm that hit my life five months ago. The day that flipped my world upside down. The day that still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The moment when joy from our vacation in California turned to great sorrow as I heard the news that my dad was in a motorcycle accident. The news of my dad’s accident still lingers. He still continues to fight for his healing. The tears still come and I still have my rough days. Thankfully, the rough days are fewer and farther between now. But they still come every once in a while. One of those days was yesterday as I sat reflecting on these last five months.
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
I returned home last Sunday. And to say the least I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my dad and what he has taught me over the years. I got to thinking my dad has never stood behind a pulpit, he’s never preached a sermon, and he’s never been the pastor of a church. But my dad has been preaching the greatest sermons I’ve ever heard with the life he has lived. I look back on my almost 35 years of life and see that my dad has been using his life to preach the Word of God to me. He didn’t need a pulpit. He didn’t need a title. And he didn’t need a 3 point sermon. He has been preaching to me through the way that he lives. I’ve heard 35 years worth of sermons from watching him. I’ve learned some of the greatest lessons I could ever learn by paying attention to the way he loves the Lord. My dad has truly preached the greatest sermon I’ve ever heard with the way he lives his life. So today, I want to reflect on some of the things my dad has taught me through his life for the Lord.