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“The Lord will surely comfort Zion
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
her wastelands like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Isaiah 51:3 (NIV)

KING’S X

As a child, the children in our neighborhood gathered daily to play. There are two things I remember from my favorite game of “TAG”. One was hearing, “All-ee, all-ee, outs in free”, and “King’s X”. Both commands gave you total protection from the “Enemy” — the one trying to capture you before you reached home base.

After losing our husbands, wouldn’t it have been wonderful to have been granted a KING’S X to protect us from LIFE or any attack of our enemy!

July 2016 was a terrible time to plan a funeral — though I imagine there is absolutely no good time to say goodbye to someone we love. The sweltering Texas heat made even breathing hard as sweat and tears flowed together on the faces of those who shared our grief that day.

On that day, my goal was to just simply make it through that memorial service, but as we left that place, there was no sigh of relief.

Looking back, I have the picture of being held up by all those God gathered around me. A small army with me in the middle. Together, we took each step, them bearing the weight for me.

And then they all went home.

Instantly, my job description changed

No longer was I able to simply look out my window to that beautifully landscaped, mowed, and trimmed yard that my husband had just finished — with no effort on my part. Because it was summer, the first job I was forced to tackle was yard work — and the equipment needed to accomplish that task.

Sitting outside with a weed eater in my lap, I watched YouTube videos on how to reload the spool. With tears flowing, I made myself a promise that the next man who told me, “All you have to do” would probably receive a throat punch…learned from a “How To” video.

Why does it have to be so hard, Lord?

And there it was, my question — “Why?”

Questions come after losing our husbands though so often we try to push them back.

But God Can Handle our questions.

That hot day, it was a messy, emotional conversation with God. Out on our driveway sat a tractor, two lawnmowers, and that weed eater. It now held the new line, but it, along with every other piece of equipment, WOULD NOT START.

“WHY, LORD? Surely, You wouldn’t make this harder on me.” And that is when the most wonderful, compassionate heart of God spoke. “Check the gas.” And just like that, such a simple piece of advice, but I knew He was right there and understood my new responsibilities were so foreign to me.

Lessons were learned that day.

“Behold, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and when you have turned back, you will be able to strengthen your brothers.”
(Luke 22:31-32 -Paraphrased)

Jesus Himself spoke these words to Simon. “I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail.”

Not everything needed more gas that day, but I realized that even though I felt overwhelmed by grief, I seemed to be the target of an enemy. But why?

Because you and I have the ANSWER TO GRIEF
and we have been prepared in advance to share that answer.

Prepared in Advance

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

We are His handiwork and have been prepared in advance for a great purpose. The new widow from church, your neighborhood…the friend you haven’t seen since high school, we know the answer for grief. Jesus is the ONLY way through grief.

God has chosen us in advance to share His Hope…and satan wants us silenced.

I have since learned to reload that weed eater along with many other things and no longer feel the urge to hurt someone when I hear those words, “All you have to do.”

Our Heavenly Father, You have looked upon our ruins with compassion and will make our wastelands as Your own garden. Joy and gladness will be found again in Your daughters. We thank You, Lord Jesus for holding us close. Amen