Earlier this week, my oldest son came home from school talking about how he was becoming more and more interested in US History. So I spent the rest of the evening introducing him to Hamilton.
When we got to the song It's Quiet Uptown, a particular lyric stood out to me: "There is suffering too terrible to name/You hold your child as tight as you can/And push away the unimaginable"
Of course that made me think about heart moms and dads. There are plenty of times I have had to push the unimaginable out of my mind. For you, that could be an unexpected surgical procedure, an unexpected side effect of surgery or anesthesia, an unexpected stint on ECMO, or the complete unimaginable in losing your child to the disease altogether.
There are some fears we do not even know how to speak out loud.
And yet, this is where my mind went next: Jesus.
Jesus did not stand far away from suffering. He entered it. He endured the cross. He carried grief, agony, betrayal, pain, and death itself. He gave His perfect life for our sinful ones so that suffering would never be the end of the story for those who belong to Him.
That doesn't mean the unimaginable doesn't hurt. It doesn't mean that we won't grieve. It doesn't mean that we will always understand what God is doing. But it does mean that the unimaginable doesn't have to devastate us. The unimaginable won't get the final word if:
- you surrender yourself and allow God space to work on you.
- you worship when He asks you to wait
- you get up and work alongside Him when He shows you what He's doing
- you decide to nurture and cultivate your relationship with Him despite circumstances
- you talk to Him often
- you are Kingdom-minded and spend time doing things that have eternal benefits
I know there are thoughts you've had to push away because they were simply too heavy to carry. I know there are fears you may noy say out loud because naming them would hurt too uch and make them seem too real. But Jesus is not afraid of the unimaginable. He has already walked into those dark places ahead of you and He is ready to take your hand and help you walk through the valley. This is where hope can still live.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33, ESV
With HEARTfelt love,
Katie
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