by T. Suzanne Eller
“That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT)
The wind blew through my fingers as I held my hand outside the window. The bright sunshine seemed foreign after several days in the small hospital room.
My husband had insisted that I go home. “Take a long bath, babe. Take a nap in a real bed. I’ve got this.”
After four weeks, my world had shrunk to my son’s bedside, X-ray rooms, the therapy wing, and a dimly lit cafeteria in the basement. I had no idea how long my son would be in the hospital, or what awaited us when he was released. The doctors used phrases like, “It’s uncertain at this time.”
Before the drunk driver hit my son, I was strong. It wasn’t that my faith hadn’t been tested; it had. But this was my child, broken and battered at the hands of another, and I couldn’t fix it.
As I drove home, I heard these words deep in my spirit:
When you are weak, you are strong.
That didn’t make sense to me. I felt anything but strong.
When I arrived home I took my bath and a nap. Afterwards, I pulled out my Bible and flipped to the verse. And there it was. Paul’s words:
“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The apostle suffered with a “thorn in the flesh.” Scripture doesn’t tell us what that was exactly, but we do know that it was something he couldn’t fix on his own. When he prayed, God reminded Paul that His power comes through when we are at our limits.
There was no mistaking it. Like Paul, I was at my weakest point. As a mom, I wanted nothing more than for my son to be okay and the wreck to be behind us. I wanted my son at home. I was exhausted by long nights on a too-small, too-thin cot, and days of caring for my child as he battled extreme pain.
Yet God was trying to tell me something. Something I hadn’t realized until that moment.
I didn’t have to be the strong one all the time. While I was caring for my son, God was caring for me.
It took a year of therapy and prayer to make my son well; there were many more weak moments ahead for this momma.
But in each, I paused and I whispered these words:
“When I am weak, then I am strong.”
My strength was not found in my own abilities or even my staying power. Instead, I was strong because God sustained me and filled me with His grace in the midst of the battle.
Sometimes, when that period of my life is brought up, friends remark, “Suzie, your faith was so real during that time.”
I can’t help but remind them that I was far from having it all together. What they were seeing was God’s grace and love poured over my weak places.
Are you struggling today? Do you feel weak? Whisper it with me:
“When I am weak, then I am strong.”
Daily Smile:
The Goodnight Kiss
At the end of their date, a young man takes the girl back to her home. He decides to try for that first kiss. With an air of confidence, he leans with his hand against the wall and, smiling, he says to her, "Darling, how 'bout a good night kiss?"
Embarrassed, she replies, "Oh, I couldn't do that. My parents will see us!"
"Oh come on! Who's gonna see us at this hour?"
"No, please. I would just die of embarrassment if someone saw us."
"Oh come on, there's nobody around, they're all sleeping!"
"No way. It's just too risky!"
"Oh please, please, I like you so much!!"
"No. I like you too, but I just can't!"
"Oh yes you can. Please?"
"NO, no. I just can't."
"Pleeeeease?..."
Out of the blue, the porch light goes on, and the girl's sister shows up in her pajamas, hair disheveled. In a sleepy voice the sister says: "Dad says to go ahead and give him a kiss. Or I can do it. Or if need be, he'll come down himself and do it. But for crying out loud tell him to take his hand off the intercom button!"
No comments:
Post a Comment