Psalm 40:1 (ESV) I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
Saints,
Well, it is Thursday (as I write this), and this is the joyous day for which we have been praying and waiting! Today my 92 year old mother is being discharged from a nursing care facility down in Richmond to begin home care at my sister’s place! Praise God! It was a Monday evening, 109 days ago, that I received the phone call that she was being rushed to the hospital by paramedics. We anticipated the worst. Many friends and family scattered around the nation, hearing that she had these 2 strokes, have been praying for her. And for some reason the Lord has chosen to glorify Himself by helping her recover during these past 3+ months. No she is not back to her former self. But she is now well enough to have home care.
What a 109 days these have been! Despite a hip surgery and other minor procedures, despite a global pandemic such as has not been seen in over century, a virus that is particularly dangerous for elderly African Americans with preconditions, despite being in hospitals and nursing care facilities which are dangerous places to be this spring … my mom has apparently “beat the odds!” She has certainly had many praying for her to recover and the Lord has seen fit to incline his ear to our cries. It really is a mystery when so many others have prayed for God to spare loved ones during these days. But in His wisdom their longings were not fulfilled. His ways are beyond our comprehension. My only thought is what the Apostle Paul said from the dark Roman prison in Philippians 1 where he declared “to live is Christ but to die is gain.” Paul recognized that God might desire to show his glory by sparing him for a while to reach out to people in the Roman prison. One thing that I am sure is that God still wants to get glory from my mom’s life. He is doing something in her, doing something in our extended family, and doing something in others who hear of her story. My prayer is that many will be drawn to see the powerful yet tender hand of the God who cares through this amazing story.
Like many people of faith, many of us are waiting for the return to public worship in the sanctuary. The elders deliberated on this a bit last night and we sense that there is still a need for patience and trust in light of the continued high numbers that are reported by the CDC. We anticipate that at some future point we will return to the sanctuary. But until then we will continue connecting together on Sundays through the Zoom technology, as we have been doing this spring.
Waiting patiently. It is never easy, is it?
- When a loved one is sick, we are called to wait.
- When you are tired of working, studying, playing, and worshiping in front of a computer for another week, we are called to wait.
- When the Zoom connection or other technology procedure becomes inoperative, you just can’t seem to make it work properly, we are called to wait.
Saints, our God inclines. He is on our side. So nothing can ultimately separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. From up in the heavens our God hears the cries of His people.
Pastor Stan