Hey Everybody,

Happy August: Back-to-School, lower hotel rates, blue sky thunderstorms, choir practice cranking up, and pumpkin displays in store windows. I love every minute – no, every second – of it! I hope that your summer has been crazy, sane, fun, frustrating, rewarding, aggravating and, most importantly, memorable!

I wanted to share the attached magazine piece with you all. I hope you enjoy it. I’m still gnawing on it  🙂

We love you!
Janet

P.S.
The WebMaster asked me to share our online special this month. It’s pretty good:)
“Don’t miss this 1/2 price sale – Six Classic Janet Music Videos on DVD –
Limited Quantity – $7.49. View samples of all 6 Videos in the online store!”
Here’s a link: (https://janetpaschal.com/store_test/sixmusic_vid_DVD.html)

 

 

Desert Bloom                                                                                      by Janet Paschal

For the girls in the backyard, it is the best time of the year. Maggie (the magnolia) and Miss Marple (the red maple) join Moe the Survivor (our sycamore) in anticipation of the spring and summer season. This is their time to shine, to hoist themselves upright and spread wide their limbs.

For months, they have quietly anticipated when their season would come. They have waited patiently, hibernating in the rich soils of the North Carolina clay, certain that winter would eventually be usurped by the slow, steady approach of the sun’s rays. They would begin to stretch their trunks and their roots. Their buds would become placeholders for flowers and blooms. They would emerge stronger, broader, and deeper than before. At this writing, their season has, again, come.

About fifty miles south of the city of Tel Aviv is the Negev desert. Named from the Hebrew word for ‘dry,’ the Negev covers more than half of the entire country of Israel. It’s impervious soil allows only minimal penetration of water, resulting in a brown, rocky landscape with deep craters and dry riverbeds.

For six weeks every year (approximately 40 days), this otherwise barren desert comes alive with beautiful color. In a much anticipated event, red anemone flowers blossom in a panoramic backdrop of red and green. Israel hosts a five-week celebration, the Red South Festival, drawing thousands of visitors annually to experience firsthand the sea of flowers in their desert homeland.

Named after the Hebrew word for bride, anemones blossom just above the Negev’s drought line. They flower first as males, giving pollen to bees and closing a few days later. Afterwards they open as females, bearing a white ring because they are now ‘engaged.’ In the short span of six weeks they blossom, reproduce and die until the next spring season.

Jesus had been with the apostles for forty days, approximately six weeks, when He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the gift the Father promised, that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Under Roman rule, they asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set . . .” After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:1-10 NIV)

Ah. The promise of the ages. The subject of endless dissertation and theological debate: the long-awaited return of Israel’s Lily of the Valley, her blessed Rose of Sharon, her bright and morning star.

Even more certain than the red anemones that bloom in the Negev desert each spring is the assurance that Jesus will return. Just as their arrival spawns celebration and joy, Jesus’ promise brings hope and enthusiasm when our faith wanes and our hearts grow weary.

Understanding the patterns of nature, we are able to predict the readiness of her leaves and flowers, and to anticipate with some accuracy their return. Yet while some have predicted the event of Jesus’ return, none have discovered it. What we do know with certainty is that when everything is ready (John 14:1-3), He will return for us. Until then, we embrace another rich covenant with Israel in the barren Negev and our hearts are made glad.

Perhaps Isaiah said it best, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them (the redeemed); and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly . . . and they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” (Isaiah 35:1,2)

Hey Everybody,

What a great time of the year! Everything is growing: the knockout roses are living up to their name, the canons are shooting skyward, the sun-tolerant lantana is beginning its summer stretch, and, if daylillies could talk, they’d say, “Watch this.” What a sweet break from our crazy, runaway world when we stop, stoop, and smell the familiar scent of lush petals. How fantastic to be reminded that God’s laws of nature remain unchanged by the instability of man’s nature. Catherine Marshall would have said, “All of this happens quite apart from man; little man who struts and fumes upon the earth.”

John and I have been doing a lot of yardwork; that is, he does the work and I offer encouragement and suggestions (I feel that is my area of expertise.) The girls in the backyard watch and await their grooming, their feeding, and then they wait for us to leave. We’ve no idea what really happens back there when we are not around:)

I’m getting ready for an intense summer semester plus singing a few fun concert events – ones that are close enough to get there and back without missing too much precalculus!

Happy Mother’s Day to all… Kay and I are blessed to share that special day with our sweet, beautiful, healthy Mom, and we do not take it for granted. For those of you who are not as fortunate, I pray that your day is filled with sweet memories and the knowledge that you will see her again. What a promise!

Our WebMASTER has launched an online special JUST FOR YOU – our Newsletter Subscribers! He has discounted many of the products and they are shipping FREE. To take advantage of this, you must follow this link and complete your purchase there. Do not dare to venture outside the link. It will lead you to full retail and shipping costs! Aargh!!!  Here’s the link:

(The link was included in the Newsletter and is available only to our Newsletter Subscribers. If you would like to receive the link, email: JPMoffice@gmail.com and request to subscribe to the newsletter and also request the “Newsletter Deal” link. Please ensure you provide us with the email address to which you want the newsletter sent.  The newsletter is sent once per month with a convenient link to change your email address or unsubscribe at the bottom of the page.)

Following is my nod to the growing, blooming, and killing season of summer. Enjoy!

We love you,

Janet

 

THE POISON CUP

It was an ordinary day in February, 1987, when Gary Wright parked his vehicle at his family’s Salt Lake City computer business. Nearby, he noticed what appeared to be a piece of lumber with nails in it. Fearing that it might flatten a tire, he kicked it away from the parking area. That is when he heard a soft click.

He does not remember the explosion.

He came to consciousness twenty feet away, as fragments of Ted Kaczynski’s homemade bomb continued to rain down. Shrapnel severed his nerves and arteries, and a nail ripped through his chin and lips, barely missing an eye. Multiple surgeries would follow to reconstruct his face and reconnect his nerves and tendons.
The FBI determined that this was the work of an unidentified serial terrorist they nicknamed the Unabomber. It would be nine more years before Ted’s brother, David, and his wife would read the published manifesto of the Unabomber and recognize the rantings as those of his brilliant but mentally ill brother. David Kaczynski called the FBI and his brother was arrested the following year.

Gary Wright used counseling and his Christian faith to arrive at his resolve: “I was never going to be the same person I was, but I could still be happy. I had to forgive this guy.”

Following his brother’s arrest, David felt the need to focus on the victim’s pain and not his own. He called each one to apologize on behalf of the Kaczynski family. Gary’s response was, “But you didn’t do this. It’s not your fault.”

The trial was held in Sacramento. During a break in the proceedings, Dave called Gary and told him he’d like to talk. The two men met and talked for hours. They became best friends and, in a providential turn of events, Gary began to help Dave reconcile what his brother had done and to move past his own pain.

It was a wizened old landscaper in Nashville, Tennessee who first shared with John and me about pruning the dead branches from our beloved trees. Not only would this help ensure that they would not fall and harm someone, but it also removed risk from the living branches; in the event of a storm, they were more likely to be damaged due to the drag of the dead limbs. He also suggested that we remove dead leaves when possible; as long as they are attached, he explained, they rob nutrients from the healthy parts of a plant.

Years ago I read a quote that I have always remembered: ‘Not forgiving someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.’ Corrie Ten Boom, having lost everything dear to a maniacal regime, resolved, “Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you.”

I remember a distant relative from childhood. He carried in his heart past offenses from other people and nursed them, rehearsing the events at every opportunity. He spoke as though the infractions had just occurred, even after the offenders were long deceased. What a shame that the drag of past events robbed him of the riches of his life going forward. What a shame that he lived his life trudging through pockets of history that he could never change. What a shame that he never stopped drinking the poison.

Some scholars feel that Moses’ mountaintop commandments had come full circle when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Listen to the only section that addresses our involvement: “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors…” In offering a pattern for praying, Jesus emphasized one prerequisite: that we forgive each other. He knew that we would be prisoners, otherwise. He knew there was risk and damage in the unhealthy branches.

Theodore Kaczynski did not apologize to his victims. When Gary Wright stood to address him in court, he looked him in the eye and said, “I do not hate you. I learned to forgive and heal a long time ago. Without this ability, I would have become kindling for your cause.” What insight from one who could have spewed venom and contempt. What wisdom he demonstrated when he measured the consequences of unforgiveness and found them far more damaging than the schrapnel. Gary Wright took a long look, made a permanent resolve, and lived the Lord’s prayer. And, once again, God’s kingdom came in the heart of man.

Hey Everybody,

It’s April, and spring is stirring. The flowers are sprouting and blooming, and the trees are budding. This is a great season, but a season, nonetheless. One of my favorite authors wrote, and I’ll papaphrase, ‘The hard thing about death is that it never changes; the hard thing about life is that it never stays the same.’

Amen. Our hearts go out to the family of Earl Scruggs. He was a well-respected pioneer whose music resonated in my home as a child. The fact that he was a very nice man was a bonus.

After living on this planet for %^&* years, I will be receiving my Associate’s degree this summer. Some of you may remember that I began classes during cancer treatments in 2005-06. While it has been slow (I’ve been a little busy:), it has remained a lifelong dream. From now until August I’ll be brushing up on my maths getting ready for the heavy-duty stuff this fall. We are scheduling concerts and women’s events beginning in September, as I plan to maintain a light travel schedule along with school. I’ve a friend who did that when she was in her twenties. I wonder if that makes a difference:)))

All of that to say that we will be posting the fall schedule in a few weeks. In the meantime, thank you for your patience!

It’s April, so grab your spade and head outdoors. Dig, plant, weed, nurture, then send us a picture of your handiwork. Next month we’ll post a new picture of Maggie. Our backyard matriarch reigns supreme these days, and she can hardly wait to be featured again.

Remember during this lovely, almost perfect month that it is easy to become focused on circumstances. The things that challenge us, that weigh on us, ‘do not go gently into that good night’. They vie for the best parts of us: our minds and our hearts. David knew something about refocusing:

“Why are thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God:
For I shall yet praise Him,
Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”

We love you!

Janet

Hey Everybody,

It’s March and, true to its reputation, the month is roaring in like a lion. Our hearts have been touched by the devastation wrought in Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and parts of North Carolina, and it has been amazing how people all over the country have offered to help those who have and who are still suffering. Hopefully, March will hold true to the rest of the longstanding prediction and march out ‘like a lamb.’

Along those lines, we have had a moving story in our little community, as well. A 38-year-old man stopped to help a young boy who was pushing his brother’s van off an interstate exit ramp, only to be hit from behind by a drunk driver. The 17-year-old boy was killed and the 38-year-old man lost a leg and suffered severe brain damage. He is totally incapacitated. His mother cried as our local network affiliate interviewed her, saying she had been forced to quit her job to stay home and take care of him. She knew that God would take care of them, she just didn’t know how. (The courts awarded them a $1,400 judgment from the defendant.) She had asked God to exchange her healthy life for her son’s. This is where the ‘rest of the story’ begins. The good, ah, GREAT, people and churches of our area purchased for them a handicap-equipped van, motorized wheelchair, and paid their delinquent bills. In this tough economy, God’s people distributed fishes and loaves and everyone was fed and the baskets stayed full. I won’t be surprised if an olive tree sprouts in that trailer park!

Even though our world seems upside down in many ways, God’s people are still throwing banquets for the poor (Luke 14:13). They are still providing a refuge for the poor and needy, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat (Isaiah 25:4). The Body of Christ is still His hands and feet in our neighborhoods and work places. Amazing, isn’t it?

Be blessed today. Know that, nationwide, prayers are going up for those of you who are suffering, be it tornadoes of the atmosphere or those of the heart. The Body of Christ is alive and well, even thriving in the land, and we’ve got your back!

We love you all!

Janet

It’s February, the month of Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Groundhog Day, and National Bird-Feeding Month. While that list begs for a great one-liner, I’m going to let it go. If you think of something very clever, and if you just can’t help yourself, send it to me!!

First of all, some nuts and bolts… We have brought our online store back in-house and we are excited about that. You’ll find samples of every song on every CD and every soundtrack, too. We thought you’d like that. We enjoy the interaction with you all and we enjoy hearing what you like and, yes, what you don’t like about your online shopping experiences. Check it out. We think you’ll like what you see.

Maybe some of you, from time to time, need to be reminded that GOD IS WITH US. I know I do.

Enjoy!

GOD WITH US…….Janet Paschal

For several years my dad operated a pulp wood yard. This ‘yard’ included an office building, heavy loading equipment, mountains of logs and, our favorite, a stretch of train track that ran right along the front. Dad was extremely careful over us, warning of the potential dangers that each apparatus represented and diligently policing our movements. I’d have climbed every stack of logs in the yard had he allowed it.

Our favorite part of the day was after lunch when the logging traffic slowed and dad would take us for a walk on the railroad track. We walked in the middle, navigating the broad slats and occasionally balancing atop the rails. There was one section that narrowed significantly, offering little or no shoulder to escape the track. More than once, along that stretch, dad would say, “Okay babies, let’s get along. There’s a train coming,” and we would rush down the track to the wide, flat parcels. We did not see a train; we did not hear a train. We asked daddy how he knew a train was coming and he explained that he felt the vibrations of the rails.

Kay and I did not know we were in danger. We did not see or hear it. We lumbered along those tracks with no thought of our safety; not because we were familiar with the characteristics of railroads, but because we were intimately familiar with the characteristics of our father. He loved us; he watched us; he would protect us. We felt safe as long as he was with us.

God laid out before Moses a great commission. Flabbergasted, Moses asked, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, quite simply, “I will be with you.” (Exodus 3:12)

When Joshua stepped into Moses’ role, the Lord assured him, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)
His promise to unite Israel came after dry bones rattled and ligaments joined bone to bone, “I will put my sanctuary among them forever.” (Ezekiel 37:26)

To Gideon He promises, ‘I will be with you.’” (Judges 6:12-16) He encourages Jeremiah, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you …” (Jeremiah 1:6-8) His word through Isaiah, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” (Isaiah 43:2)

David learned, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (Psalm 23:4)  Jesus told His disciples, “You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” (John 16:32)

The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, “…. keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you .…” (Acts 18:9)  Peter declared the works of God, “…. because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38)

God’s proximity was foretold by the prophet Isaiah “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The Hebrew translation is staggering: ‘God with us.’

Jesus added finality to the promise when He spoke to the eleven disciples at Galilee, words that have resonated in the hearts of everyone who ever believed He was who He said He was: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

It has often been a late summer breeze that awakened my senses and stirred my heart to let me know, in that moment, God was with us. I have gazed at a winter sky when Jupiter gleamed especially bright, knowing, somehow, that the Creator God was near. Just as surely as I have felt the hand of my father while maneuvering a railroad track, I have felt the divine, careful orchestration of the events and moments of my life and I remain amazed that the God of the ages still concerns Himself with the day to day.

So…. At Christmas, we celebrate the miraculous: His arrival. Always, we celebrate the unfathomable: God with us.

We love you all!
Janet

Hey Everybody,

It’s January 2012 and I still can’t believe it. It seems that only a few months ago we were all preparing for the new millennium. My parents were right, the older you get the faster the time seems to go!

We’ve just returned from a couple of great concerts. We were in Concord, NC for Motor Racing Outreach Ladies Night and Opp, AL with Comfort Care. Both were great events with warm, sweet people. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best thing about what I do is being able to meet the incredible people I come in contact with. I feel so blessed.

We’ve some time off before the North Carolina Church of God Ladies Conference on March 02. I’m looking forward to some of the things I love: shopping, cooking, and spending days with the people I love. Even the holidays aren’t better than that.

I pray for you all a prosperous, joyful New Year, and I pray that you will be able to squeeze every ounce of good out of every minute of every day. Remember, you only get one chance to live each day. Make it count!

We love you!

Janet

Hey Everybody,

I wanted to write and wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

The parking lots are full and the traffic is congested. (I love it.) Bells are ringing and lines are long. (I love that, too.) Newspapers are chunky and our organizational skills are maxed out (Yes, I love that, too.)

I pray for you all warm, slow days with those you love. I pray that we will take a second look at the manger and God’s irrational introduction to mankind. I pray that we will take a second look at each other, too, witnesses of love personified and wrapped in swaddling clothes.

I pray that the voids brought by loss and disappointment, this season, “will only bring a smile”, as God’s great sovereignty renews our strength and reestablishes our foothold.

I pray for you joy and laughter and a hard drive full of memories!

We love you and we look forward to seeing you in 2012!

Blessings,
Janet

We are counting down the days until Thanksgiving – my favorite holiday. Everyone is coming to our house again this year so I’ll be busy cooking, baking, planning, and I am going to LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT. I wish Thanksgiving came every month!

I hope your days are full and warm. I hope your yeast rolls rise (mine, too!) and the appetites you manage are satiated and then some! I also hope you find some great bargains on Friday morning while some of the world sleeps. I will, again, be venturing out before it is day to snag a place in line on Black Friday. Let the games begin!!

We love you and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Blessings,
Janet

P.S. Below is a picture of my fabulous birthday celebration: food and fun with the people you love. It doesn’t get better than that. They even let me win a game!

THE HIGHEST FORM OF THOUGHT by Janet Paschal
It has become a family tradition. Following our Thanksgiving meal, we begin at the head of the table and each person shares the things for which they are most grateful. We recount blessings both familiar and new. Moving clockwise, we nudge both ends of the spectrum, laughing and crying in turn.

During that time around the table, the hearts of everyone in the room are on the same page. We understand what it means to be filled with gratitude. We grasp that we are blessed beyond measure simply because there are no empty chairs.

G.K. Chesterton maintained that gratitude was the highest form of thought. A friend of mine says it is the only virtue that God expects. It is when our hearts are grateful, she says, that blessings are passed from one generation to the next. Gratitude can be a choice we make or a response to our circumstances. Ironically, the desires of our heart can draw us toward gratitude, whether those desires are fulfilled or denied.

Sometimes it is loss that makes us grateful. Who can fully appreciate a healthy back until it wields pain at every bend or movement? Can you truly be grateful for a child with good reflexes and a responsive mind if you have never seen that tiny form being prepped for scans and vitals? Who can honestly grasp what a privilege it is to dial a well-worn number and hear a parent’s familiar response until the phone goes unanswered and the voice silent? It is only when we digest our loss, kneeling by a freshly dug grave, barely able to breathe or function, that we grasp how much we possess.

My husband lived in Denver during the reign of the Broncos and their hero, John Elway. Since boyhood, Elway had dreamed of playing football and winning a Superbowl. He spent his entire life working toward that Sunday in 1998 when the Broncos beat Green Bay for their first Superbowl championship. Some time later Elway would tell an interviewer, – I have lived my whole life since I was five years old dreaming of that day. There I was, on the field, holding the hardware, smiling at the camera, doing the obligatory, I’ll see you in Disney, and I didn’t even get off the field before it began to feel hollow. The next two months were the darkest of my life. I was more depressed than I had ever been because I had gotten to the top and it returned nothing. Since I was the quarterback they let me take it home and for the next two months, I sat in my living room looking at it. I tried to look at it from every angle. I walked the floor at night looking at it and, still, it could not satisfy – .(paraphrased)

Sometimes it is a dream realized that makes us grateful for the ordinary. Sometimes we are grateful that we could not reach the things we could not hold. Sometimes we discover that the journey to the top was better than being there.

When my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, she and her husband returned home to ponder the treatment options and recommendations. She recalls walking into their home, looking in the mirror, and thinking that she looked the same. She had no protrusions, no visible signs of illness. She did not feel sick. She had no pain, nothing that would indicate that she needed treatment of any description. After her first chemotherapy session, she still felt no side effects. It was on day three that she began to understand the severity of her treatment. As the treatments progressed and her body responded to the wrenching battery of drugs, she faced the escalating side effects. In a poignant statement, she said that it was only after realizing the severity of the treatment that she realized the severity of the disease. After she grasped the severity of the disease, she (and we) could better understand what a blessing it was to sit at the Thanksgiving table with good reports.

Life teaches us to be grateful. It strips through the superfluous and fine tunes our focus. For the believer, it eventually demonstrates that all things work together for the good of those who love God. For that we are particularly grateful.

Hey Everybody,

It is October and it is fall – my favorite time of the year. John has planted bulbs and propped hay and pumpkins on the front porch. Soon it will be cool enough to light a fire. Nothing says that fall has arrived quite like the crackle and smell of the first fire of the season. The leaves are turning rich, dramatic colors and the countryside is breathtaking. Mark Lowry says God is showing off.

Mark called a few days ago and, as always, he asked what I was reading. I have been reading only the Bible for about three months. I enjoy that because it is not someone’s ‘take’ on history, but a trustworthy account. And no literature in the world has any more interesting stories than those in the Old Testament, with its characters and geneologies. I’m in Kings at the moment, and Israel is frustratingly human!!

This is a busy month, and I am loving it. I have been able to match faces with some folks who have written and emailed; that is always a treat. My sister, I and our two cousins have birthdays this month, so we will spend a day celebrating: shopping, dining, and, most importantly, visiting. Life doesn’t get a lot better than that.

I hope your days are full and warm. I hope your plans exceed your expectations and your ordinary days prove extraordinary.

We love you, and we hope to see some of you this month.

Blessings,
Janet

Hey Everybody,

It is September, and we’re gearing up to hit the road again. Fall is busy, and we are looking forward to each and every event – and we are looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces again!

On Sunday, we will celebrate the unbending faith and resilient human spirit that survives ten years following September 11, 2001. Following is a piece I wrote a few months ago. Seems to fit this weekend.

One Day
I have known her for years. Our backgrounds are extraordinarily similar and when I visited her dad’s church for a concert, she and I became instant friends. Her family is one of those rich genetic lines through which runs character, poise, meekness and a sense of humor. Their leadership is innate, as evidenced by the throng of people who trekked weekly to that tiny Pennsylvania borough and to the magnificent sanctuary he built.

He is completely engaging, adeptly incorporating modern day analogies into Biblical events. His warmth from the podium always reminded me of my grandfather; when you left his church you felt as though you had been hugged. His natural grace extends to the dinner table and he masterfully includes each person in the conversation.

One ordinary day, my friend raced her boyfriend up a flight of stairs and did irreparable damage to some clandestine nerve endings. She was suddenly and unexpectedly in excruciating pain. This fit, athletic young lady was reduced to near helplessness. Almost a decade later, despite extensive treatment from the country’s leading experts, her condition continues to deteriorate. Her pain has robbed her of a number of things that she deeply loved: her first home, a promising career, and social interaction with her peers. She has been forced to surrender long held dreams to God’s sovereignty; closely guarded independence to His foreknowledge.

Her sagacious father was left to assemble the pieces of her life in such a way that it made sense on some level; sense to her, to her family, and to his congregation. Their faith remained strong, deeply rooted in their history. They were (and are) not swayed by the assault on the temporary. Their focus is fixed on forever.

In Phillip Yancey’s book, What Good Is God?, he shares the story of what was, for him, a life-altering event. In 2007, his vehicle crashed, overturning down an icy embankment. Strapped onto a gurney, he was told that his neck was broken and the fracture was perilously close to an artery. For several hours he was denied medication, as they tested his responses. He tells of his doctor’s constant probing, sticking, pressing, always followed by the question, “Does this hurt?” All responses affirmative, he doctor answered “That’s good.” The fact that he felt pain indicated that the spinal cord was not damaged. Pain offered proof of life, Yancey said. It was a vital sign that his body remained whole.

Dallas Willard wrote that “Nothing irredeemable has happened or can happen to us on our way to our destiny in God’s full world. Nothing”. Paul wrote that all things work together for good to those who love God; one translation says that in all things God works together with those who love Him to bring about what is good. All things.

A few years ago I took some nagging questions and eventually arrived at what I really believe. My journal read, “I have questioned His ways. I asked Why?  and  Why not?”
I have gazed at the stars on a clear night and asked, “Are You really there?”

But Lord, I have resolved….
….. to trust You when I disagree with You
….. to walk beside You on those days I’d rather lag behind
….. to sit and learn when I would rather go and do
….. to died, convinced there is no other way to live!

One day the losses that my friend in Pennsylvania has endured will be redeemed. One day the suffering endured by those who love God will stand as a testament to His enduring faithfulness. Until then, we echo Yanceys conviction that pain offers proof of life, proof that we remain whole. We drink from the cup of sorrow knowing that, one day, it will pass. And our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)
One day.
We love you all…
Janet