For Mrs. H

A dear friend sends me emails from time to time, encouraging me to write new posts on my blog when it's been dormant for awhile. So, this one is for you, Mr. H.....and for Mrs. H, your wife of noble character who is worth far more than rubies. (Proverbs 31:10)

I recently picked up a trilogy that I had read in college. It is about God's unrelenting pursuit after the heart of man. As the trilogy unfolds, the reader begins to grasp the power in the threefold nature of God's forgiveness. For we are called to forgive others, we are called to forgive ourselves, and we are called to receive God's forgiveness. It is through this forgiveness that we allow God's healing to wash over us. (I'm referring to the healing of our spirit man).

The authors weave a tapestry of scripture and faith throughout the pages to remind the readers that "God's way is often beyond man's understanding" and "God's plan for reconciliation is never exhausted." The depth and richness of the story meant so much to me over twenty years ago when I first read it, that I've never been able to part with it.

In the introduction of the last book are these words:

"Life is not lived without heartbreak, loss and tragedy; such is the human condition. As Job said, 'Man is born to trouble.'

But a person's moments on earth are merely a flicker. The joys and miseries of circumstances ultimately fade into nothingness, and all that remains is the character one carries from this life into the next. The physical world provides the training ground for the deeper life as we learn to respond to the God who made us. Temporal loss can be the price of timeless gain."

Having battled through two of the toughest years of my life.....Seeing loved ones struggle through some difficult situations.....Realizing that no one is immune to the heartbreak, loss and tragedy of life....The above words in italics bring me comfort....on so very many levels.

May each of us learn to respond more intimately to the God who made us. May we set our minds on things above.

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Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14