Dear Friends,

Please pardon my quiet blog and stilled “pen”. We have had an unexpected pause in our lives. My husband is ill at the moment and my days have been spent visiting him in the hospital. It has been a sweet and gentle time of waiting together. The joy of simply being present with one another. Listening to the beeps, whirs and hums of the medical machines. Watching people pass by the door to his room with firm footsteps, some working, some thinking, some conversing in hushed tones. Talking, singing, reading the Bible, praying, watching TV, watching the clock, watching the sun rise and set, holding hands over the bed rails. Enjoying the presence of our children as they come and go.  Together.

We are grateful for the medical care he is receiving and for the healing from the procedures, medicines and treatments. Most of all, however, we are grateful to the Lord. The God of the heavens and the earth. The One who created each of us, formed us in His image, breathed His breath of life into us and set our hearts beating. We know that His plans are for the greater good, even if we can’t see it in the present. How do we know this? We look at Jesus. The cross where he hung certainly did not appear like a sound plan in the moment. But what greater good could there ever be?

We pray that God will use this unexpected pause in our small lives for His glory.

Whatever you may be facing today, know this…the God of the universe holds you, loves you, died to save you from your sins and longs to bring you to Himself. That already is the greater good.

John 13:1 – It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

In Christ’s love,  Melissa McLaughlin

Photo ©Melissa McLaughlin

Additional resources

Whispers of Grace By Melissa McLaughlin

The Power of Positive Thinking Johns Hopkins Medicine