God is good all the time...

And all the time, God is GOOD!

Here's the entry I read yesterday in my devotional book, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young:

Psalm 34:8--Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.  Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.

Taste and see that I am good.  The more intimately you experience Me, the more convinced you become of My goodness.  I am the Living One who sees you and longs to participate in your life.  I am training you to find Me in each moment and to be a channel of My loving Presence.  Sometimes My blessings come to you in mysterious ways:  through pain and trouble.  At such times you can know My goodness only through your trust in Me.  Understanding will fail you, but trust will keep you close to Me.

Thank Me for the gift of My Peace, a gift of such immense proportions that you cannot fathom its depth or breadth.  When I appeared to My disciples after the resurrection, it was Peace that I communicated first of all.  I knew this was their deepest need:  to calm their fears and clear their minds.  I also speak Peace to you, for I know your anxious thoughts.  Listen to Me!  Tune out other voices, so that you can hear Me more clearly.  I designed you to dwell in Peace all day, every day.  Draw near to Me;  receive My Peace.


I wanted to share that with you because it was such a breath of God to me yesterday.  We sailed through last week, and everyone was becoming so optimistic that Sarah might escape the worst of what this chemo typically (okay, nearly ALWAYS) does to people.  The chances were so slim that she would come out of it with no problems, but yet I knew God could DO IT!  And He could have.  But, God's ways are not our ways, and He chose to let us experience some of what the other families do when they go through this valley.  Yesterday morning, Sarah starting having some nausea and vomiting on top of the little bit of other tummy problems she was having.  It turns out that she did start getting the dreaded mucositis--sores that normally run from the mouth all the way down the digestive tract.  She did not get them in her mouth or esophagus yet it seems, and that is still a huge blessing, but the stomach ones are causing her pain and nausea.  So, they started putting her on all kinds of medicines now to keep her comfortable.  It was rough at first--quite honestly one of the worst days I have experienced.  But now it seems the problem is pretty much under control. Thank the Lord for this modern age of medicines!  The drawback is, she is so sleepy all the time.  That's really not too bad of a problem though, as long as she is comfortable. 

So, even though I am disappointed, I am still happy that she lasted as long as she did, which means that she won't have as long of a time to suffer.  The doctor says probably by the end of this week she could start feeling better already!  We are certainly hoping so and praying to that end.

We are so thankful for the gift of peace that God gives so freely when we trust Him and accept it.  We can't always know the "why's," but we can know His perfect peace at all times.  And that, we have found, is truly the best gift of all.

Blessings to you today!