As I sat down to write a post today, I found a draft from June of 2018, waiting to be finished, so opened it up and read it. Ironically, yet I prefer to call it a #butGod moment, my post is about a dear friend of mine who had lost her father in April of 2018. I’d like to share it with you:

June 2018 Blog Post Draft

Father’s Day three years ago my heart was broken and grieving the loss of my Daddy.  This year, I’m comforting one of my best friends through the loss of her Daddy and while it breaks my heart, I can’t even begin to express what a gift it is for me to be able to give back to her the same comfort I received in my time of loss.

I remember the deep agonizing pain as if it was only yesterday. The emptiness inside. The loss of his advice when I needed it. The longing for him to be here beside me and comfort me during the hardest time of my life. The anger about the cancer that took him from us. The sadness in watching my Mother navigate through life now widowed.

Now, I am on the other side of that grief, and I can’t explain how I got here other than the sheer truth that Jesus carried me, because there’s no way I am where I am today without Him. This journey has been one of the most trying and painful in my life, so to be on this side, is a miracle. I can breathe again, laugh again, and speak of my Daddy without crying, because his legacy lives on through me.

Being a big-picture person, I knew even while mourning the loss of my Daddy, that one day, God would use my loss for His great gain, to encourage someone; I just didn’t realize it would be so soon, nor for someone so dear to my heart.

This Father’s Day was the first in three years, in which I was able to lift my head and actually celebrate the day without feeling completely depressed.  It wasn’t easy, but it was good! I found the perfect Father’s Day card for my Mom, crossed off “Dad” and wrote her a note about how proud I am of her for stepping up and into my Daddy’s shoes to give me the advice and caution he would have given me.  I never thought it would be possible, yet with God, it was and is!

As I read my own words, written just last year, tears stream down my face. Yesterday, I reached out to a new friend who lost her Mom two years ago, and I shared this concern: “The thing I worry about the most, is how in the world I’m supposed to live my life without my Mom!? She’s my person! She’s been a key part of my entire life!!! How do I just move on without crawling into bed and never coming out?” She lovingly shared her story of triumph through the pain, stating that while the void is never filled (we all know that there’s no one like Mom!), we learn to accept and live with our “new normal”.

Prior to my Mom’s cancer diagnosis, she had shared a devotional with me about “Stacking Stones”.  Upon safely crossing the river, to escape Pharaoh’s army, God had instructed the Israelites to stack stones, creating a monument for generations to come, to see the goodness of God and His ability to get them through the hardest time(s) of their lives. That blog draft I never published? It serves as a monument for me right here and now, as I face the impending loss of my Mom. I have renewed hope, having read my own testimony of God’s graciousness in getting me through the loss of my Dad.

I can’t encourage you enough, start stacking those stones! Every difficult time you have and every victory, or blessing you receive, write them down! Stack those stones, so that in your time of need, when you’re feeling defeated, deflated and discouraged, you can stand on the never ending promises of God! He was for you then, He is for you now and He is for you always.

May we find comfort in knowing that there is victory on the other side of every battle we face, as long as we are allowing God to fight our battles for us.

Be bold and be strong, for God will use every battle in your life, to bring a victory, followed by an opportunity to encourage someone behind you who’s facing their own battle.

#trulyblessed #trulygrateful #stackingstones