Monday, October 27, 2008

sovereignty & sorrow, a worthy example

As I was wrapping up the previous post, Becky Fox immediately came to my mind, as an excellent example of the marriage between grieving and trusting.

Just last week, Becky found out that her car needed a new transmission, which would cost over 3k.  If she made the choice to not have her car fixed, and opt to buy another car, her brother had found one with low mileage for  a little over 4K.  Either way, the thought of emptying her savings and dipping into her retirement plan wasn't a happy thought I'm sure.  We talked on the phone one evening and through her tears, I heard my friend make the choice to trust in the Lord.  I remember her saying that she knew that all of the money she had belonged to the Lord.  It would be easy in a situation like this to feel sorry for yourself and stake a claim on the money you saved up for other good things.  But Becky did not do that.  She opted to trust, even in her sorrow.

I watched Becky exemplify this same sort of attitude as she waited and waited and waited for the settlement date on the purchase of her home.  The need to wait caused all sorts of problems as her well thought out plans and schedules, which involved moving and cleaning and painting, were shifted over and over again. The prolonged date even left her without a home.   No, she didn't take to the streets - a friend opened her home to her and her cat, Shadow.  :)

I can recall a phone conversation I had with Becky where I prayed for her...and once again, through tears and sadness, I heard her place her trust in God's timing.  Her words were not a denial of the realities of being upset and frustrated - but she made that important turn towards trust.

Both of these stories - the transmission and her prolonged settlement date - had great endings.  God showed His faithfulness in so many ways to my friend.  But before the great ending, when she was living in the uncertainty of what would happen - she chose to trust.

Thanks Beck, for being a real-life example of what it looks like to grieve and trust in the Lord.

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