"When darkness veils it's lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace." ~Edward Mote

Lay down this principle as a law-God does nothing arbitrary.  If He takes away your health, for instance, it is because He has some reason for doing so; and this is true of everything you value; and if you have real faith in Him, you will not insist on knowing the reason.  If you find, in the course of daily events, that your self-consecration was not perfect-that is, that your will revolts at His will-do not be discouraged, but fly to your Savior and stay in His presence, till you obtain the spirit in which He cried in His hour of anguish, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42).  Everytime you do this it will be easier to do it; every such consent to suffer will bring you nearer and nearer to Him; and in this nearness to Him you will find such peace such blessed, sweet peace as will make your life infinitely happy, no matter what may be its mere outside conditions.  Just think, my dear Katy, of the honor and the joy of having your will one with the Divine will and so becoming changed inot Christ’s image from glory to glory!  ~Dr. Cabot to Katy  (Stepping Heavenward, Mrs. E. Prentiss, p. 88).

I actually sat down to write something else.  Something else from this book that I read and I’ve been mulling over, but then when I cracked open the book to re-read what I was going to write about, it fell open to this page and well, the conversations that I had with some lovely ladies came flooding back to me.  In some crazy way, this portion of Dr. Cabot’s letter to Katy was encouraging to me.  Have I told you that I love, love, love the book Stepping Heavenward?  It is seriously, one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Suffering brings us closer to Jesus.  I think that this happens over time.  A long time. I’ve been thinking about this, a lot.  I was talking to Mike the other day, just kind of verbalzing what had been going on in my head.  I was thinking about where I was nearly 5 years ago.  Full of hurt. Pain. Saddness.  Helplessness.  I really thought that it would never end, but now looking back on the last several years, I’m not entirely sure how I got from there to here.  It just sorta happened.  Healing happened.  Is happening.  I can pick out several “turning points”, but not really sure when it happened.  Does that make any sense?

Through our suffering we have been brought closer to Jesus.  Just as He intended.  I don’t think that I really recognized that happening.  A lot of misconceptions were torn down during those years about suffering as a Christian.  About suffering as Jesus suffered.  We learned how growing nearer to Him we found peace in the midst of the darkest time in our life.  We found joy.  Not emotional, fleeting joy, but JOY!  The only joy that Jesus can give.  The joy that remains even in the midst of the yuck. 

Suffering brings us nearer and nearer to Him.  Honestly, I’m grateful for that.  Really grateful for that.  That’s not something that I would’ve said a couple of years ago.  Heck, even a year ago.  But as I think about it, I’m grateful that Jesus has brought us through.  IS bringing us through.  That He’s changed us.  Hopefully He’s receiving the glory, because, well, Jesus has done it (is doing it) not us.   He’s bringing us nearer to Him.  He’s bringing us peace and joy.  The kind that’s unexplainable.  Because He’s doing it, then He gets the glory.  All of it.

A couple of years ago, Tullie started mimicking people.  We’d raise our hand.  She’d raise her hand.  She was trying really hard to copy just about every simple gesture that we would do.  

One night we were sitting at dinner with a friend who popped in from Massachusetts for the evening.  Dinner had just wrapped up and we were still talking at the table.  He had leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head relaxing while we were talking.  A few minutes later we look across the table at Tullie.  She’s sitting in her seat with her hands behind her head listening to our conversation.  We all start laughing, she got embarrassed and gave us her shy, cute smile.

Around that same time she started watching people at church and she would raise her hands during worship when others would.  Mostly just mimicking what she saw.  At the time, I had thought, “That is so sweet!”

But tonight, at church, I was holding Tullie and we were singing, “Amazing Grace”.   She looked me in the eye and started repeating each word she understood. Grace.  Sound.  Meeeee.  She was so intent on wanting to know the song.  I started smiling at her.  She ate it all up!  In the middle of the song and a few songs after that, she’d shoot her hand up in the air, just worshipping.  Tonight, it tugged on my heart and made me feel lucky to have this wonderful, innocent, worshipping little girl in my arms.  And I really think that she was worshipping.  She was pretty intent on it.  Trying to say the words to the songs and putting her hand up when she wanted to, not because of everyone around her. 

I’m thankful to be Tullie’s mom, but tonight I saw Jesus in her and His glory.  Seeing her praise Him.  Tonight I was thrilled to be Tullie’s mom.  Oh, how I love that sweet girl.   She is an amazing asset to our family, and I also hear that she’s a wonderful friend.  Kids LOVE her.  A friend sent me a note tonight that said how Tullie was her daughter’s friend.  And, well, that just warms my heart.  I love that!  I love that our friends see Tullie for Tullie not identifying her as the girl with Down Syndrome. 

Tullie-Wullie,  you are loved!  Your are dearly, dearly loved.

Several years ago, our pastor, Mark Driscoll, was at a conference and shared this list of  the differences between the Gospel and Religion.  It’s been hanging on my fridge for years.  The paper is spotted and crinkly and stained.  I thought I’d share the list, cause well…it’s a good list.

“It’s all about Jesus”

Two enemies of the Gospel are idolatry and religion.

We don’t see restaurants, sports, television, entertainment as idolatry, but sometimes they are. Many times they are.

“If you don’t break the first two commandments, you won’t break the other commandments.”

Everyone worships.  The atheists just worship their mind.  We have a propensity to worship created things rather than God.

Non-Christians are very spiritual.  They worship. They just break the first two commandments.

We worship good things and they become our god things.  The stuff we love can enslave us. There’s only one God, and He alone is to be worshipped.

Where do you run for cover? What makes you the happiest? How do you articulate who you are? Whose approval are you seeking? What comfort do you treasure the most?

Sometimes we get angry at the real God because He doesn’t serve our false god.

The Bible has nothing kind to say about religion.  Religion doesn’t understand the Gospel.

Religion says, “If you obey, God will love you.” The Gospel says, “Because God loves you, you can obey.”

Religion is about what I do.  The Gospel is about what Jesus has done.  “It is finished.”

Religion is about what we get from God.  The Gospel is about getting God.

Religion sees hardship has punishment.  The Gospel recognizes there can be good fruit out of hardship and suffering.  It’s called sanctification. “Jesus was made perfect through his suffering.”

Religion is about me.  The Gospel is about Jesus.

Religion leads to a life of continual uncertainty.  The Gospel provides assurance.  Certainty.  We can approach the thrown of grace.

Religion ends up in two places which are both wicked.  It ends in pride or despair.  The Gospel ends in confidence.  It’s humble.

Jesus went to the cross and died.  And with it died idolatry and relgion. 

Is Jesus Christ your only God? Is your life lived to worship him alone?

John Piper was at Matt Chandler’s church The Village on December 27th.  He was there to encourage the congregants, after Matt Chandler’s diagnosis of brain cancer.  Het gave an amazing sermon about suffering and hope.  I think that it’s applicable to anyone who has suffered, but I also think that it’s real, honest and something that can be listened to over and over again.  Here is the link to have a listen.  Click on December 27th, John Piper and the sermon entitled Subjected to Hope.   Enjoy!