Every Season

This week I have been painfully aware of people in my life who are hurting. And yet, many are rejoicing under the same sky.

Tonight there will be:

Tears caught by pillows.
Prayers uttered for mercy.
Depression that wraps round like a blanket.
Anger that swells like the sea.
Sadness that seems to bury the soul.
Selfishness that has the sting of a scorpin.
Darkness that takes away years of smiles.
Loss that shakes the foundation of faith.
Devestation that crushes flat the mountain.
Dignity stripped away in the clap of thunder.
Confusion that steals any glimpse of rational.

And there will be:

Glasses clinking in celebration.
Hearts discovering one another.
Flowers blooming after the long winter.
Cries of new life.
Joy that bubbles like boiling water.
Peace that covers life snow.
Long embraces wrapped in lovers arms.
Rejoicing that comes with the morning.
Healing that has been long awaited.
Glowing that outshines the sun.
Warmth that thaws the hardest of hearts.

Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

Heaven Came Down

Yesterday morning, Jesus carried Walker Jack Rainey home to heaven. 

Soon after Walker was diagnoised with a rare and aggressive tumor, the Rainey family contacted our agency to discuss needs for childcare.  I was instantly drawn to the family and the way that Chad spoke of his son, their plan of action, and most of all their faith in a good God. I met with the family in person to discuss their needs and I even entertained the idea of a way to help this family myself seeing that they lived so close by to my home. Walker was deemed precious in my sight from the moment I layed eyes on him and it was obvious that his parents swelled with infectious pride. I have since watched Walker's blog closesly, always waiting for the day that Chad and Missy would announce that he was set free from cancer.

I had always hoped that "free" would be here among the land of the living.  But nonetheless, today Walker is indeed set free.

And Chad and Missy's faith in Jesus continues to inspire and wreck me.

To read more about Walker's ridiculously beautiful and fruitful life, go here. I believe that their faith will leave you changed.

Please pray for the family's healing and that Jesus will be ever near in their darkest hour.

Beauty for ashes, Lord. Beauty for ashes...

**The first song now playing on my playlist is Held, by Natalie Grant. These lyrics are some of the only words that seem to come to my mind and lips when I think about the loss of the Rainey family. **