IN THE TRENCHES

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

James 1:2-4

I recall a season past when odds stacked high against me. Newly pregnant and debilitatingly nauseous with baby #6, golden retriever puppies (10 of them!) plus their mom and dad, people in and out of my home daily as we were in the process of moving and renting out our home, boxes to ceilings, house clean for showings, selling puppies, reviewing renter applications, seeking a home for our own family, starting a new homeschooling year as it was a September, and juggling 5 little souls all the while...the overwhelmingness of it all comes back thick today as I take the time to remember.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Matthew 5:4

Sadly, one of the most unfortunate side effects of that particular season for our family was the loss of a friendship, misunderstandings by some others. Our plate was FULL and the giving we more typically offered to those who knew us had to wane for the time as we were in a refining moment for our family...an intentionally positioned molding opportunity sent from our loving heavenly Father who knows exactly what we need. How those God-ordained interventions can burn, and yet how blessed to reap fruit through the pruning!

"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away,

and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

John 15:2

You come to know who your most genuine friends are when you're up against a wall, when you just aren't your normal self for a bit, when you're the one in need instead of the constant giver. I remember the phone call which left me appalled and one "friend" less. And, I remember the ones who stood loyally by, zero judgment, ready and waiting for our return to normal,
prayerfully supporting us through the taxing times, the growing times, the pre-harvest pruning in the trenches.

Praise God for those faithful friends! Thank you, Lord, for those who loved us in the trenches! Oh, that we may perpetually be such friends to others! Only by the grace and love of God, Father, equip us, we pray!

But, the equipping, it has prerequisites...painful, often messy, typically uncomfortable prerequisites and I make the decision to delve in anyway if that's what it takes to decrease, if that be God's plan for His best,
that Christ's love might abound all the more through the trenches!

"He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John 3:30

To have been on the receiving end of judgment is a gift, though painful at that. Yet, our compassion and grace for others swells when we know the sting ourselves. Our empathy and patience for others expands when we've been the one in the trenches. Our sensitivity toward others multiplies when feelings hurt...and they will. Thankfully, Jesus knew. He knew how all of it felt. He knows how I feel now. He's been the One rejected. He's been persecuted to the point of death! And, He forewarned us that we would encounter the same when we choose to follow Him deep.

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

2 Timothy 3:12

As I reflect this morning on that yesteryear season and also the past year of transition through our adoption (which hasn't been all roses), I'm again inscribed with God's faithful fingerprints, His permanent pressings on my heart, His choosing to mold this lump of clay for His purposes...accepting of even the pain that accompanies His fine work.

"Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand."

Jeremiah 18:6

Enveloped by the Word today, I find myself oddly thankful for the woundedness of sufferings, the privilege of persecution, the ache of being misunderstood for commitment to that which He's called us.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Matthew 5:11-12

I'm grateful today in particular for those who've stood by us, edified our calling, taken time to be patient with us as we've groaned and transitioned this year without passing judgment or tallying our journey.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall see mercy."

Matthew 5:7

I'm praising God today for His faithfulness and keen eyes which see straight to the depths where no one else perceives.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Matthew 5:8

God's view of us is what matters most, after all, and He's weaving more of His heart into ours as we follow Him down the rocky roads of life seeking hard after Him. He never makes mistakes and He loves us in the trenches and I wonder,

Why me? How is He mindful of just me here in the trenches?

But He is and His Word offers that encouragement.
Like a bear hug, I let it soak in...

I let Him soak in...

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8:1-4

 

...and yet...He does...

 

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:1-6

 

Thank you, Lord, for your LOVE!

I'm thanking God today for sending us those who've loyally loved us with His love for who we are right where we are, understanding of where we've been this year and in seasons past as we've forged our way in and through and out in due time of His wise and loving purpose for us in the mire and ash and beauty that's begotten when we spend time in the trenches. Hallelujah!

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Romans 5:3-5