Learning to Pray God’s Word When Our Own Words Fail Us
It was late summer in Colorado, and I’d spent the last few months exhausted. But like the “good mom I was trying to be,” I would walk to our community pool with Titus, who was 18 months at the time, at least once a week. Michael, my husband, had been giving me a hard time lately, “Why aren’t you taking him to the pool more?” as I was a stay-at-home mom, and Titus begged me almost every day to walk him to the pool to swim. (He was a pretty cute kid and could puppy-dog-eyes like the best of them!) But I was exceedingly tired until it dawned on me, “I think I’m pregnant!”
I remember how giddy I was and how many pregnancy tests I had taken to share the news with Michael. I’d painted “I’m a Big Brother” on one of Titus’ favorite green onesies and prepared a “pregnancy test bouquet” (thanks, Pinterest; but it's so weird now that I’m typing it) to surprise Michael.
The Goodness of God: In the Epistles
I had been battling debilitating headaches for months. I went through testing and tried medication. When relief and answers didn’t come, I was scheduled for an MRI. Those results did not come back with good news. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor in January 2000 and scheduled to see a neurologist immediately. When this situation came into my life, I was a brand-new believer. I had not yet experienced the goodness of God in a way that allowed me to trust Him fully. I didn’t know for sure that He would walk through whatever was to come in the days and weeks ahead. I was fortunate to have people in my life who pointed me to God during this season. I was surrounded by encouragement, support, and love. While I couldn’t understand why I was walking through this diagnosis, I fully experienced His presence and peace.
Paul wrote his letters to the early churches in the Bible for various reasons. These are filled with encouragement, instruction, and clarity.