June 27, 2020
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10. It’s one of my favorite verses bc it’s one of the hardest for me...& the One who knows me better than I know myself and loves me with a love I can’t bring to fully comprehend knows it too. And because His goal is for my good, my best (from His big, beautiful, eternal, perfect perspective!), to grow me in the likeness of Christ, trust in His promises, & rest in His sovereignty, He sometimes has to force me to be still & so I can KNOW in a deeper, more intimate & profound way that He IS GOD!! And He graciously did just that on Saturday 2 days after my final double-dose chemo. I felt pretty good and didn’t slow down Thursday & Friday as usual...until Friday night. Our 3 boys were off doing their things all over & I sat down my big boy and my black boy (my sweet hubby & our sweet family dog...yes, our house is full of “BOY”! But that’s ok. That just makes me the uncontested Queen B😄) on the couch for a just minute...let’s just say it wasn’t exactly a New York minute. In and out of sleep all night with a sore neck, headache & inability to settle in general, I got up to say goodbye & send Kaleb, my oldest at 17 (how do I have a 17yo?? Lord only knows! But he’s a joy & a blessing from Him!) off on a fun 4-day trip to Havasu with a group of friends from church, and went back to bed. I got up a couple hours later and went to the offices of Dave Financial Mortgage Company, owned & operated by David Averell in the upstairs of our home😊, to do some work for my “boss”...then went back to bed to rest up before we headed to the beach to surf at 1.
Well, at 3 I was awakened by the barking of our big ferocious watchdog (NOT...but he does sounds the part when someone knocks) as dear friends came to drop off 3 huge jugs of Reverse Osmosis water to strengthen my armor as it’s attacked in the battle ⚔️. They brought the water in & we had a sweet visit. The gift of their friendship was way more filling than all the water!
Since my boys had let me sleep and headed to the beach hours before, I’d sleep most of the day away and my sweet dog had been by my side the whole time (he’s definitely a mama’s boy...& I’m not complaining about the constant unconditional sweet love of my canine kid!), I thought it was high time to get us up & moving! I’d been trying to connect before we were leaving for our trip with a dear friend & fellow Sara...
Sidebar: there are so many Sarah’s from my generation but only a few without the “h”. I always had a couple Sarahs on my sports teams growing up & in my accountability group of 6, there are 3 “Sarahs” (2 with the “h”& me😎). My parents tell me they named me after the Biblical character, Sarah. They just decided to spell it S.a.r.a., even though my sister, named after Rebekah, Isaac’s beautiful wife, got the more uncommon Biblical spelling. Once my dad sent me a postcard from Honduras when he has serving a dentist on a medical missions trip and addressed it to “Sarah”. I lovingly never let him forget it🥰
And my dear husband always tells me the privilege he counts it to be married to royalty, since the meaning of the name is “God’s princess👸🏼 ”...do I have that right? Yes to the meaning, no to my hubby’s response. He called me Sarai, Sarah’s name until she was given in marriage to our father in the faith Abraham, when we were dating- until he put a ring on my finger & gave me the privilege of being his wife!!
Ok, back to my friend, Sara- sweet, spunky Sara Vuoso. We had years of fun cheering our boys on together from the sidelines in Little League, from teeny tot Tball to big boy AAA, while our hubbies coached. Such sweet memories!! She was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, brain cancer about a month after my diagnosis. It’s sure bonding to be branded with that word, to be given membership to a club you never asked or wanted to be a part of. But here we both are: card-carrying cancer club members. And there’s no one who can understand what membership entails than another member. We had wanted to connect & pray before I headed out of town the next day so I saw this as the perfect (& only!) opportunity. I called to see if our schedules lined up...& they did. She’d been on the couch all day & my call was just what she needed to get up and moving physically & psychologically. Moving our mouths & muscles together is definitely my favorite way to connect, encourage & catch up with friends 🏃🏼♀️. We had a sweet time of sharing the challenges & joys of the journey and how God has meet us & our boys (we both have all boy families), continuing to grow us all in our trust in Him, our great, sovereign God,& encouraging each other of the good plan He has in & through all this for every one of our lives. How we can embrace Gods truth through the words of James: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4
We passed my son & husband on their way out to a BBQ. Brody was invited by his surf crew to enjoy some smoked brisket so Dave was driving him over. I rested again waiting for him to come home...I waited...and waited and feel asleep as he was convinced to stay & enjoy the grub too! And I’m glad he did😊. When they got home about 10:30 and he snuggled in next to me on the guest room bed exhausted. Once he was asleep- in about 5 minutes flat- I got up to connect with my younger 2 boys and check in with them about their day. We ended up “chillin” in the hot tub🔥 til way past midnight, talking about their day that led to some great life discussions about how to know and follow the Author of Life, find true joy in doing so and share that joy with & truth of Him with others!! My heart was full as my head hit the pillow...again ☺️
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. Psalm 46:1-11
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