Every now and then our Heavenly Father reaches down with a gentle hand and touches our lives in can’t-miss-it kind of ways. Those times when we can sense His delight in showing us, His children, that He knows deeply, He sees deeply, and He loves deeply.
He did so again for me recently….
Beginning on June 26, 2011, life took a turn for traumatic and heart breaking for our family. Hope seemed pretty distant and sometimes God did too. I didn’t understand what He was doing in our lives. At the same time I was determined that I would not miss whatever it was that the Lord wanted to teach me. I clung to the promise that “all things work together for good”, that there was something of value for me in the sadness. I clung with all of me to God and His Word and stayed as close to Him as I humanly could. I cried so many tears I wondered how many bottles of them God had collected.
When I joined the staff of New Guilford Church in August 2012, I was still crying. Every staff meeting, almost without fail, I cried. They cared that my heart was hurting and they prayed such beautiful, heart-squeezing prayers for me and my family that made me cry more. I began to dread staff meetings because I knew I would cry.
Thankfully, the tears have gradually lessened. Still there are tears now and then but more for others rather than myself. Their prayers have not changed. They still pray beautiful prayers for each other, for me, and for the church family.
It was prayer time in our staff meeting a few weeks ago. The comment was made… “Tess doesn’t cry anymore. She laughs.”
That evening, I shared this with my husband.
“I know why”, he said.
My best friend, my husband, the one who loves me like Jesus loves me,
was praying for me,
was praying very specifically that
the Lord would change
my tears to laughter.
And God reached down and answered his prayer.
