My friend lost her sister.
I randomly called my father to tell him that I was coming to see him. Then he broke the sad news that our friend had lost her sister. She had not been sick for very long, from the time they found her illness to the time when her body just didn’t want to take any more of the pain. While my original intent was to visit my father, I knew that a visit to my friend felt more important. I called her and told her I was coming over.
My daughter has a finicky personality (as most toddlers), and so I gently warned her that our friend would likely ask for a hug, and if she did, she was supposed to give her one as I explained to her that she had just lost her sister earlier in the day and she would be very sad. My daughter seemed to understand. When we walked in the door, our friend asked for a hug, and my sweet daughter obliged, and gave her a long hug of comfort.
Upon going, I had no profound words to share. Actually, I had no words at all. I had met her sister on a few occasions and she had always been happy and full of life and made me feel welcomed. I just wanted to sit with my friend for a little while as I knew she was dealing with a hard loss.
When I got there, she started telling me of the weeks before when she had to take care of both her sister and her mother’s needs, and while running from one emergency to the next, and how God opened doors literally in the knick of time at every single turn, my eyes filled with water. She shared stories upon stories of how things that usually takes hours or days to get accomplished, happened just in the moments that she needed it.
On my way home, the thought kept coming to me: God did not promise that we wouldn’t suffer, but He promised to be in the midst of it with us and to help us through.
Right before bedtime, my daughter opens my devotional and hands me the reading ‘comfort’. I smiled, because it spoke about my evening. It reminded me that Jesus was called ‘the Comforter’.
You may be going through a heart breakingly difficult time, but I just want to remind you that God is our Comforter and is with us. David reminds us in Psalm 23:4 ASV “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for being with us in the midst of our losses. Thank you for being an on time God and providing for our needs. Please continue to be with us as we go through this difficult life, but we know that we can trust you to take care of us.