Thank You, Lord, for Answered Prayer

Last week in my blog post I asked all my readers to be caregivers by your fervent prayers for my sister, Nancy.  Below is the link to my last week's blog post, if you did not get to read it.   https://christiancaregiving.blogspot.com/2022/05/requests-for-fervent-prayer.html  

For those who fervently prayed for Nancy I am happy to report that Nancy came through an intensive twelve hour plus surgery with flying colors on Wed, May 25.  She has to spend time in the IC for a few days and one to two weeks total in the hospital. Yet when we consider her having gone through this type surgery she is doing very well.  (She was given some blood on Friday, because of low blood levels, but otherwise she is doing well considering the circumstances.)  This is because of hundreds of prayers that were sent on her behalf.  Thank you for your prayers.  Please continue to pray for her in the months of recovery ahead.  This all also happened, because we have a faithful God.  Thank You, Lord!  Praise Your name!

If you want to read the caring bridge post my niece wrote the day after surgery in behalf of her Mom, my sister, you can click on the below link.  May you be encouraged in your faith, as you read it.

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nancyvandyke/journal/view/id/62901669cac2ec2ac87f4813?fbclid=IwAR0hOeW2GSzhxvGIwqt2gAuVW0FzthHG_qgqHMPosuEMIGZMhGajyESo3JQ

Requests for Fervent Prayer

Because of my years of being a caregiver for my first husband, Wayne, I have a desire to encourage family caregivers.  In a sense we are all caregivers to someone we know and perhaps love. Caregiving can be an intense day after day endeavor for months or years like it was for me.  It can also involve stepping up and being a caregiver for a shorter term illness.  

Caregiving can also come through words of encouragement and prayer for people you know and love.   I am asking that you will do that today.  I am asking that you will pray for my sister, Nancy, her husband, her adult children and spouses, and her grandchildren.  Nancy was diagnosed about two years ago with colon cancer.   This cancer is also in the lining around her organs.  Nancy needs prayer and so does her family members who care about and for her.  She has already been in an intense battle against this cancer through chemo and surgery to remove a tumor which was ready to burst in her colon.  

The chemo is no longer working as it should.  So in a few days on Wednesday, May 25 Nancy is scheduled for a very serious surgery in a hospital a few hours from her home. She will need to stay in the hospital for seven to fourteen days after surgery, and there will be recovery time at home after that.  This surgery is serious and scary to those of us who love her.  It also gives us a sense of hope and excitement at the possibilities.  Will you please pray for her and her family?  Please pray that this surgery will take place as scheduled, and that it will produce great results.   Thank you ahead of time for your prayers.

(Below is Nancy's story in her own words.  It is a link to her latest Caring Bridge post concerning this upcoming surgery.)  

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nancyvandyke/journal/view/id/62815cb01c4e7bd91fad37f1?fbclid=IwAR1xZrdpxKrkOLd9vnezu2Z9SICGr9h0f4tj8RpNA_BC0bo5bbAKCVvzfu

Faith

Faith is a beautiful thing.  Faith must be in the Lord alone, however.  Faith in anything else in this world will always fail us.  Faith in the Lord is the only true source of stability, hope, purpose, and refuge when life's difficult moments occur.  Faith in the Lord helps us face the realities of life when they become overwhelming.  In fact, faith demands that we face reality with its challenges both difficult and exciting.  We need to in faith pray to the Lord to help us accomplish this.

How do we hold on to faith when we feel overwhelmed by the problems all over the world and by the problems we see in our own lives and in the lives of those we love?  I have a sister who has been fighting serious cancer for about two years now.  My husband's sister-in-law just passed away from cancer.  Other family members in both Bob and my families are going through struggles as well.  Bob himself was and is on antibiotics.  How does one hold on to faith in the struggles of life?  

The answer is that we trust the Lord.  We know that He is in control.  We trust that He provides joy and strength even in the most difficult of situations.  We trust that His love for us is unending and limitless.  We trust that He will never forsake us.  We also trust that He will guide us through this life step by step and in the end take us to be with Him.

Also when we slow down enough in our hurrying and scurrying through life to recognize our many blessings and to recognize the goodness of God through it all, we grow in our faith and love for Him.  We then see how many prayers God has answered in our lives.  We recognize His daily provision and protection for us.  Then gratitude and joy follows replacing all the negative emotions.  Yes, sad emotions and lamenting are still often there, but our perspective changes.  It become an eternal and faith-filled perspective.

It is difficult at times to maintain that faith in the face of obstacles and heartaches.  Only the Lord can give us the faith we so desperately need.  Yet prayer, reading God's Word, and worship paves the way to this kind of abundant faith-filled life.  It is the means the Lord uses to guide us and walk with us throughout life and into Eternity.  There is no better friend then Him.

Eight Year Anniversary

 

Time has a way of continuing to march on.  A little over eight years ago in April of that year I published my book, Dear Caregiver Reflections for Family Caregivers.  Writing and promoting the book eight years ago stirred up emotions about my own difficult days of seeing my first husband, Wayne, decline in his body and then losing him to death.  

At the time of the publication of my book I also had some fears.  Satan would have liked me to feel like no one was going to read the book, but I also knew it was in God's hands.  I further felt a passion to help current caregivers.  That is the reason I started this blog, and that is the reason I wrote my book.

In spite of the emotions I was excited  about the new book.  This book and other events in those eight years since the publication of this book has helped other family caregivers including my current husband, Bob, who read the book while taking care of his late wife at that time.  For that I am very thankful to the Lord.

If you are a family caregiver or know someone who is a family caregiver consider reading this book.  It is available at the Amazon link below.  It is also available at Barnes and Nobles below and elsewhere online.  It is further available from me directly at jesuschild54@hotmail.com  Just contact me there for details.


Once again here is the Amazon link to the order page for my book:
rhttps://www.amazon.com/Dear-Caregiver-Sharon-Vander-Waal/dp/1629524263/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482027543&sr=1-1&keywords=Dear+Caregiver

Here is the Barnes and Noble link:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dear-caregiver-sharon-vander-waal/1119198854?ean=9781629524269

Affirmations

We all have situations in our life that are difficult.  We talked about that in last week's post.  Some of those situations can feel like grief experiences.  Some of those situations can make us feel all alone in the experience.  Yet in some cases, the difficult experiences involves things which we cannot control, things we can't fix.  They may involve circumstances for which we can only pray.  

I have one such situation in my life, a situation for which I have been praying for the last few years especially.  A book I am reading talks about not getting emotionally bogged down in difficult situations that we can't control or change.  The book goes on to promote making decisions to move ahead with purpose and joy in spite of the situations in life which are out of our control.  

The book also talks about monitoring our thought life and replacing as much as possible our negative thoughts with positive thoughts.  This idea very much mirrors the Scripture passage in Philippians 4:8-9 which says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,  whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."  

The book discussed above also suggests writing some affirmation sentences.  So I will share some of the affirmations I recently penned.  Be you a family caregiver or you are dealing with some other heartache in your life, may these  personal affirmations be helpful to you, and may they inspire you to write your own affirmations.  The edited version of my affirmations that I wrote are in the following paragraphs.

"I will chose  to be thankful today.  All things will fall in place in due time.  I am where I am supposed to be in my life now.  My life has purpose.  I don't need to fear for the future.  God has my entire life planned, and He is in control.  My life is good.  I have a comfortable home and a husband who loves me.  I don't need to have my whole life figured out.  I just need to rest in the Lord and be thankful for the blessings, to be joyful.  I can and need to accept things as they are in trust and joy.  

I am resilient and strong in the Lord.  I can be present and joyful instead of preoccupied and worried when I feel fatigued or face problems.  I need to be very aware of how stress affects my body and to try to not go down that road.  I need to accept what I cannot change and accept the good in others.  Instead of saying, 'I will never-----,' I need to say, 'I will with God's grace---.'

Even if everyone lets me down (And they won't.  There is always someone who is there.), God is still with me.   God won't let me go through anything in my life without His help and the situation growing me.  I will enjoy the present moment.

I will say each morning, 'This will be a good day.'  I will do an activity today that I enjoy.  I will substitute negative thoughts with positive thoughts today.  I will be aware of the blessings of creation today.  I will live today without the situation for which I have been praying a long time seemingly resolved.  I will do this no matter how long it takes for the situation to be resolved or no matter if it ever gets resolved the way I would desire it to be resolved.  No matter what I can still find and have joy in my life."

This blog post was not written to suggest that there is no place for lament or sorrow in our lives.  Many of the Psalms are laments. There are also some very sad situations right now besides the one to which I alluded above in both my husband's and my families which weigh heavily on our hearts.  Yet joy and praise in the midst of difficult times can do much to lift our spirits, and they are pleasing to the Lord.  The Psalms often command a "sacrifice" of thanks to our Lord.  So what affirmations could you pen concerning a troublesome situation you are facing, dear Reader?  Why not write down a few thoughts and trust God to see you through step by step and moment by moment?

 

Why Is There Suffering In the World?

Why does God allow suffering and broken-heartedness in the lives of Christians? Why are we living in an increasingly dangerous world of persecution, suffering, and war?  Why is there abuse of all kinds and hardships in our world? If you are a family caregiver, why did your loved one become ill?  Why is there suffering of any kind in this world? If God is a God of miracles, why doesn't God just fix things?

There are no easy answers to these questions.  We do know that sin entered this world when Adam and Eve, the first people, disobeyed God.  Hence, we no longer live in a perfect world.  It is now a world affected by sorrow and sickness.  Also people make bad choices sometimes which unfortunately affects other people as well.

Jesus said we would face trials in this life.  He also said, however, that we can take heart, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33 in the New Testament of the Bible).  He has promised to always be with us and never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5b in the New Testament).  We also have the assurance that someday all will be made right and perfect when He returns.

Being my first husband's caregiver and watching his body deteriorate and fighting breast cancer myself during part of that time was a very difficult experience for me. There have been trials that have continued/continue to follow me in the years since that time in my life such as family members who are going through trials I never would have imagined.  This by default affects me and those who love me.  I have had my own bodily aches and pains as well.  Why did/does God allow that in my life?  

There are no easy answers to these questions.  I do know God has used the difficult experiences in my life to teach me valuable lessons.  I am learning that I am not in control.  I am learning of the need to depend on the Lord, even though I still am prone to fret and try to solve things in my own strength.  I am learning of the need to seek God for Himself and not for what He can give me.  

I have seen His faithfulness over and over.  Through trials I have grown and continue to grow in my love for the Lord. I have come to know not just in my head but in my heart in a deeper way the truths of His promises.  I often still get easily discouraged, but I know that feelings are not a measure of God's truths.  Feelings do not negate God's promises to always be with me.

We have just experienced another Good Friday and Easter in mid April.  Christ suffered unimaginable suffering, so we could be saved.  In his book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund, says the following, "To you I say, the evidence of Christ's mercy toward you is not your life.  The evidence of His mercy toward you is His-mistreated, misunderstood, betrayed, abandoned.  Eternally.  In your place.  If God sent His own Son to walk through the valley of condemnation, rejection, and hell, you can trust Him as you walk your own valleys on your way to heaven."  

In yet another chapter in his book Dane Ortlund says this, "You have often left Him; has He ever left you?  You have had many trials and troubles; has He ever deserted you?  Has He ever turned away His heart, and shut up His bowels of compassion?  No, children of God, it is your solemn duty to say 'No,' and bear witness to His faithfulness."

  

Easter Joy

 

I love Easter best of all the holidays.  I love it for its deep spiritual significance.  Yet how does Easter relate to us always and especially in this time of crisis?

Easter means that the Lord Jesus came to this earth and lived a perfect life for you and me.  He later died on the cross to pay the price for our sins, and then He arose again on the third day to prove that He had won over sin and death and Satan. If you and I have accepted his gift of salvation by repentance and faith, we are His child now and for eternity.

Easter also means that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, identifies with our pain and the pain of our loved ones. As we struggle in our own needs or to help our loved ones, Jesus Christ identifies with us. Having suffered the worst possible pain for us on the cross He is able to sympathize with our heartaches and weaknesses. He is also an all-powerful Savior to whom we can freely go for grace in our moments of sadness and overwhelming and crushing needs.  (Check out Hebrews 4:15-16 in the New Testament.)

Because of Easter and Christ's sacrifice, we can freely approach God the Father Himself with both our needs and our loved one's needs. We can cry out to Him for help and call Him our “Abba Father,” because He considers us His special children (Romans 8:15). Easter also means that when our hearts are so weighed down with the heartaches and overwhelming circumstances of life that we do not even know how to pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede and pray for us! (Romans 8:26)

Easter means that although we will always face trials and troubles in this world, the Lord Jesus Christ has overcome the world.  He is also our source of peace even in the most challenging of times (John 16:33).  Even in overwhelming circumstances and even when we do not understand God's ways in allowing certain things in our lives, God is working for our ultimate good. We are victors in Him! (Romans 8:28 & 37)

No matter what happens in our life situations we will slowly heal emotionally and spiritually. God will always be with us, and joy will return one day. His love for us will never fail. He proved that love for us on the cross. That is the meaning of Easter for all of us.