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“They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of His splendor.”
Isaiah 61:3b (NIV)

Abba Father

Jesus called out to God, His Abba Father, in the Garden of Gethsemane.

As children, in our pain, we cried out to our parents who came quickly to our aid.

Now, in a season of grief and loss, we are raising our arms to our Abba Father.

“Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.”
Psalm 69:1-3 (NIV)

Whether we can physically see or feel His arms around us, He is our Abba Father who picks us up and wipes the tears from our faces as He whispers, “You are going to be alright. With Me, you can do this.”

As widows, we have many questions.

What is our purpose now?

Relinquishing control of what we thought our lives should be is necessary to experiencing God’s ‘continued’ purpose and plan for our lives.

Years ago, our oldest grandchild, Colby, lived in our cabin on the land before going into the Marines. We went fishing after he got off work and hunted wild hogs when the sun started to go down.

On one of our fishing trips, we put his canoe in the lake, our plan being to follow the lake back to just below the bluff on our land. I started rowing mightily, but it wasn’t long before I realized we seemed to be going in a circle, making no progress at all.

I heard Colby nicely say, “I got this, Poops. (My beloved ‘grandparent’ name) I’ll row from here.”

At that moment, my efforts were futile to get us to the desired place that day.

I had to relinquish my paddle before we could make any progress.

Relinquishing control is very, very hard for me. I have in my own mind what my life should have looked like — been.

But here I am. Here we are….

Trying to steer the canoes of our lives.

It is exhausting at times, isn’t it!

There is great peace — perfect peace and rest — when we let God take control and lead the canoe.

His waters are calm or we’d never be able to stay afloat.

It takes a gentle breeze to carry us to His desire or will for us. We can rest in the fact that He will give us, equip us, with all we need to get there.

There may be storms, but He rides them with us.

“For You have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;”
Isaiah 25:4 (ESV)

Thankful that God is the ‘Bestower’ of our purpose.

So many in our world today cannot understand our season of widowhood. We are grateful that they can’t.

Though we may question our purpose here on this earth without our husbands, God is not finished with our stories. The next chapter is different than we had expected or hoped for, but God is very much in control of writing it.

Will He be able to use us in this season?

A Righteous Planting

We must remember that GOD WASTES NOTHING…

Grief brings us quickly to the Throne of God.

IT IS THE TIME TO SEE GOD…to know Him better.

We may always be known as widows but that identifier will not control our hearts or our purpose. It doesn’t have that kind of power at all.

As we walk this journey together, we will choose to lift up our hands and praise His name for all He has done for us.

We will comfort new widows and each other, and we will share the ONLY answer for grief.

Jesus

“We will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of His splendor.”
Isaiah 61:3b

Dear Abba Father, please bring comfort to weary and broken hearts. We ask that this season of widowhood not be wasted but will point others to You. Please give us Your strength to become beautiful displays of Your splendor. In Your Name, we pray, Amen.