A Stronger Safety

 

     Safety… it seems to be a basic need. When I don’t feel safe, I don’t have peace. To be honest with you, writing a blog does not feel at all safe to me. There is nowhere to hide. I am exposed to the entire world. But just beyond my fear there is a safety that is stronger than the safety of being unknown. It is stronger than the safety of order and control and not making mistakes. And it is stronger than the safety of having well-adjusted children who follow the rules, make wise choices, love God and love me. This Stronger Safety is a person—Jesus Christ, and this blog will be about Him.

     Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 1:4 that God “…comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” So that is my goal here. You see, I have five children ranging in age from 12-24, and with them have come many joys but also many heartaches. So I have had oodles of opportunities to receive comfort from the LORD and, like bills in the mail, opportunities just keep coming! I have begun to suspect that this may be a longer journey than I ever imagined on the day we welcomed that first little bundle of joy into our home. My challenge in writing this blog will be in how to share enough of our family’s story with you to bring you hope, without betraying my family’s right to tell or not tell their own story. And so I will try to relate to you my own thoughts and feelings while leaving many of the gory details of our experience unspoken.

     This blog will not be a place to come for advice, strategies or answers. Rather it will be a place to come and lean into the arms of the Lover of Your Soul as you walk through the pain of watching your children struggle and hurt. I have no answers. I’m not yet safe on the other side with the happy ending. I’m right here with you and my goal is simply to pass on to you the comfort that I receive from the LORD, so that you will know that you are not alone. Jesus says that He is close to the brokenhearted. I find great comfort and strength in that truth. His answer to our brokenheartedness is that He is near. He is not running away from all our raw pain. He is doing the opposite—running near to us, closer in. God says to us in Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” When our hearts break we are given a treasure—the close Presence of the LORD. That is what we will hold onto and be held by, as we wait for our prodigals to come home. May God bless you, Dear One Who Is Greatly Loved by the LORD.