The Giving and the Taking

 

 Proverbs 11:10a "When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth."

Proverbs 12:13b "but the righteous will come through trouble."

I just came through a weekend of struggling through watching the"giving" and watching the "taking" and trying to  bless God's name. 

We were in Kentucky participating in a weekend "house raising" for dear friends who have been living in an RV for what seems like long enough. More than 50 people showed up to start making a dream happen.

 

 

In the middle of this joy, we were receiving texts and videos from family and friends in Louisiana that their world was falling apart. They watched in helpless horror as inches and inches of relentless rain caused the waters to rise and rip their beautiful, rejuvenated church (that had been practically destroyed in March this year from flooding) apart.  

 

The much quoted words of Job were used again to boost faith and give courage: "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away...blessed be the name of the Lord."

Joy and sorrow. Birth and death. Building up and tearing down. It's so hard to mix opposite emotions and come out with Praise and Blessing.

When our last child was born, my mother in law was only able to briefly cuddle and love her. She was phasing into the last months of her life here. Cancer claimed her; our daughter never remembered how much her grandmother loved her. I felt sad for her because all our other children had felt her love and treasured her memories. 

But through the long months of grieving for her Grandpa, her childish hugs and kisses kept him going. The Lord took his lover but gave him the devotion of a precious new grandchild to give him something to live for after the taking away. Their relationship was a special one!!

Only a few days before our oldest daughter was to be married, a 5 year old nephew died. I was tempted to doubt God's timing in this one. But I saw God's Spirit give sweet calmness to the family of the little boy by enabling them to attend the wedding, and thus witnessing to a community of God's nearness in this distressful situation. I don't know when I have ever felt God's presence so strongly in a wedding ceremony as on that day. It was God's "giving " after the "taking away".....

Last evening, I attended a viewing and observed the tears of the family doing closure for their loved one who had suffered a lot. I listened to a lot of the nieces and nephews talk about how their Aunt Beth couldn't be replaced and how much she had done for them. But I also watched the smiles of several of those nephews and nieces and grandmas and grandpas as they cuddled new babies who had just joined the family circle. It's like the holding was healing. The taking was being replaced by a new generation and God's giving. 

I envision my Kentucky friends sitting around the fire in their new home and feeling the love that was hammered and nailed into every inch of their wonderful cabin. I pray they will soak up many years of God's gift to them. 

And I also pray for our Louisiana friends to keep courageous through the "taking away". I pray for their hurting communities to experience hope as they suffer. I pray for their faith when they are so tempted to doubt. I want them to believe that the "giving" will come to them. There will be Light after Darkness. Smiles after Tears. Reaping after Weeping. Sunshine after Rain. It is God's Way. He giveth and He taketh. That's a given. 

And we, in our weakness struggle to praise Him and Bless His name. But we must choose to lift up our hands anyway. Our choice must be to believe in the Giving and the Taking. Our time will come!!