This morning in church, my pastor was talking about the
birth of Jesus – specifically what Mary experienced. Mary was young and from a
somewhat poor family, and the main things she had were her virtue and her betrothed,
Joseph. When the angel visited her to tell her that she had been chosen, she
realized that it was unlikely that anyone would believe her that she conceived
miraculously – including Joseph. She stood to lose (in other people’s eyes) her
virtue, and had an angel not also visited Joseph to set him straight on how
Mary conceived, she might have lost him too. Pastor brought up the point that being
chosen by God for such an important task of raising His Son was a huge
blessing, but at the time it probably didn’t feel like it. Pastor then brought
up a different Joseph in the Bible from the book of Genesis. Joseph eventually
became the right hand man to the Pharaoh of Egypt, but before that happened, he
was first sold into slavery by his own brothers. He worked hard and found
blessing in the eyes of his master and became the manager of the house. Then he
was falsely accused by his master’s wife and was thrown into jail. At this
point in his life, he probably didn’t feel very blessed. But that jail was
exactly where God needed Joseph to work His plan. I’m sure it didn’t make sense
to Joseph except in hindsight, which is usually 20/20. While in jail, Joseph
met a couple of Pharaoh’s servants. One of them was executed but the other was
reinstated to his position, and at the right time, mentioned Joseph to Pharaoh.
Joseph was released from jail and helped save not only Egypt, but also his own
family from a famine that lasted a long time. Joseph was blessed, but the path
to the blessings was full of trials and difficulties.
That’s how life often is. I have been blessed, but my
life certainly hasn’t been perfect. I was recently reading a book called Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston. Here’s a
quote from the book that stuck with me: “Yesterday I tried to explain to the
children that life is full of ups and downs, and that some of the downs are
actually ups, and some of the ups, downs. They only wanted to know how far is
down. I said it depends. Depends on what? They asked. I told them it depends on
if you view the downs as a green valley or an endless abyss.” Mary’s life took
a drastic turn when the angel came to visit. Her life suddenly became more
difficult and her responsibilities much greater. Raising a child is a huge
responsibility, but raising a child who would one day become the Savior of
mankind…that’s on a whole different level. She didn’t see those changes as an
endless abyss, but rather the green valley.
I’ve experienced ups and downs in my life. Some of those
downs turned into ups and others were just things to endure for a time – not an
endless abyss. I often wondered when I would reach the end of that down, but
the end always came. In some cases, God had to bring me through a valley so
that I could be a blessing to others in ways I wouldn’t have thought about had
I not gone through that valley. Isn’t it great how God takes us choosing to be
a blessing to others and uses that act to bless us as well? Other times (like
the last 18 months), had we not gone through the valley, certain blessings
would not have come our way. Like Joseph, God used the valley to have our paths
cross with someone else who was able to help us out of the valley and back onto
the mountain. God used many people over the last 18 months to make our trials
seem more like a valley and less like an abyss. Had we not been through those
trials, our paths likely would have never crossed. He used some of those people
to shine a light so that we could see that the end was in sight. He used others
to throw us a rope so that we could climb out of the valley.
Having Justin lose his legs was not a blessing in and of
itself. That’s something that will be a daily physical struggle for him for the
rest of his life (not that he lets it stop him from doing the things he loves,
but it does make it more difficult). Being looked down on and likely called a
liar and unfaithful wasn’t a blessing for Mary, and being betrayed wasn’t a
blessing to Joseph. It’s how God is able to use those things that brings out
the blessings. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.” God has a purpose in the things my family has gone through, in what
Mary went through, and what Joseph went through. Mary gave birth to Jesus and
that brought a huge blessing to everyone who accepts that Gift. Joseph saved the
lives of many during the famine. I don’t know what God’s purpose is for my life
and Justin’s and how he ultimately will use our situation in the long run, but
in the short term, He used it to provide us a new truck and a house, and He
brought us back home. It was so nice when people asked how long we were in town
for this time to be able to tell them that we’re home for good now. That by
itself is a huge blessing, and I am thankful for it. As for the long term, our
time at Walter Reed may be done and that chapter finished, but the next chapter
has just begun and God only knows where it will take us.
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