Trusting God in the Trials

This past season of my life has been the hardest of my life. I lost my best friend; my mom passed away on Saturday, September 7, 2019. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago and it was the hardest thing I have ever experienced; my heart broke. She was the strongest and kindest person I know and I am honored to just have half of the strength and selflessness that she had. She fought for five years and never gave up until the very end. Because I knew that this day was coming, I was blessed to spend so much time with her. I got to take care of her and try to repay how she took care of me for my entire life. It was an honor to do it and something I will never forget. She passed as I held her hand and whispered “God has you, mom. He has you in His hands. It’s okay, God has you. Don’t you ever forget that.” A bittersweet moment but one that I saw of her being fully at peace with dying. (Something I wish we could all have.)

Throughout all of this, God remains. He is constant. To be honest, I don’t know why my mom passed this weekend. But I know God has a purpose and plan and this will work out for it. He will make it known someday as I look back onto this. His plan is perfect and that is why I trust Him fully. I have told Him many times "God, I trust your timing. I trust your reasoning. I trust you." And through it all, I still do. God has a history of making everything tie together perfectly. He has a history of working miracles! He is constant and will continue to make everything good. God blessed me with 17 years and 8 months of being with my mom and that is something I will never take for granted. God used her cancer to bring my mom and I to our faith- something the devil intended for evil. God uses everything Satan wants to harm us for God's victory. He allows trials to strengthen and teach us. The Bible tells us multiple times that this is true. 1 Peter 5:8-10, James 1:2-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 are just a few. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT) says: “ Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." WHY? Why should we be grateful and joyful in our pain? Because we have a good God who never fails to take care of His children that He loves so much He sent His son to die for our sins. He is always perfect; He will always love us and take care of us - no matter what happens. When we trust in Him, we receive a peace the world doesn't offer. I truly believed that God's timing and plan was perfect and felt a sense of peace. Why? Because He had never failed my mom or I in making everything work out in the best way. This trust takes a long time to achieve- but I urge you to write down the struggles you have faced in your life. Then write how they were used for good. I fully believe my mom got cancer five years ago because it is what brought me to go to church for the first time in my life. And four years after that- when she was dealing with even more cancer- she gave her life to Christ! She, a scientist and atheist, began to rely on Christ as her Healer! The day she was baptized gave me a lot of clarity. God brought us into His arms through the cancer Satan intended to use to destroy us. He used it all to teach us to fully rely on Him- something I never would have done if I didn't go through the pain. So if you are in the trials, remember God has a perfect plan and He is in control. He does care and loves you so much, and He is always with you. All you have to do is take the first step towards Him. 

The pain won't make sense in the moment, but God allows trials in our life for something greater. So, trust in Him and receive His overwhelmingly-good peace.

PS. Thank you to all for all the love and care through this challenging time. I am so grateful for it. Thanks to all who chose to support my mission trip as well. The service will be held 9/15- please reach out to me if you would like more details.