On December 20th of 2007 I was woken up by a phone call from my Dad early that morning. He sounded stressed but not like something terrible had happened. As I was driving through Harrisonburg down Main Street I was stopped behind a train right in front of the entrance to James Madison University. Something was off but I couldn’t put my finger on it and that’s when I heard the Lord speak to me clearly.
“Jeremy, It’s your Mom. She is here with me now and what you are walking into right now IS going to be the hardest thing of your whole life but I’ve spent 20 years getting you ready for this very moment. I will be by your side every step of the way, you need to keep your eyes on me.”
I panicked, after a wave of terror rushed over me as I pulled my phone out and quickly dialed my Mom’s phone number all the while pleading with God for it to not be this way. She didn’t answer. As I approached the house I saw two police cars and Tom Holden’s car (a former pastor of our church, First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg and friend of the family). I pulled into the driveway and while the car was still moving I slammed it in to park. With a screech of the tires I ran to the front door that was being held open by an officer revealing a panic-stricken version of my Dad that I had never seen and have never seen since.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt more broken then that day. I remember thinking that I wanted to burn my clothes along with everything that reminded of that day. I remember yelling at God saying “IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!” but God began that day to reveal to me a simple and beautiful lesson.
I know that the phrase “It doesn’t have to be this way.” has been used in my life in response to the things that are hard and hurt but what if we turned our frustration into a new way to look at God’s creation?
Thursday night was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen and all I could think to say was “It doesn’t have to be like this.” God didn’t have to make things beautiful, but he did. God has created a beautiful world and has beautiful plans for us and our lives but so often we get bent out of shape when storms come our way that we miss out on the plans he is revealing in us. December 2007 through December 2008 from an objective view should have proved to be a very hard and depressing year; with my Mom dying and me to have heart surgery. The truth reveals just the opposite. God spent that entire year teaching me of his majesty, grace and purpose for my life and this world.
May we come to see the world around us, realizing that God didn’t have to make it this way. God made beauty and is using it as a megaphone to our world to tell us of His love and redemption.
Everything IS going to be okay…and not just okay; everything IS going to be PERFECT.
Jesus said for us to pray, “on Earth as it is in Heaven”.
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