We served together with tears in our eyes. As children played around us, we spoke truth to each other.
There are 3 of us, talking together. One who lost her husband 3 years ago. The other has just gone 2 years without steady work. And me.
So much hardship when I look at their lives, all the sadness that has happened to them. I think about what I think are hardships in my own life, but know that I cannot relate to their specific stories.
We talk about how life is hard. One tells how she cries frequently. I think of others who are dear to me and are suffering. We talk about death and losing and pain. We don’t understand. We only see part of a whole. Our eyes well up and we look at each other.
But these women speak of God's faithfulness and challenge me to my core. If them, why not I? One says, “This is the time to be thankful.” I look at her in amazement while the other nods her head. This, this is the time to be thankful?
But I know it’s true. I know what it is to live in the hands of grace and peace. I know that hope comes from Christ love, truly nothing else. And, if He is my reward, I will not be disappointed.
