There’s a song I heard this morning by Matt Redman, called Never Once. I’ve heard it a thousand times but this morning it was as if I heard for the first time. If you haven’t heard it, CLICK HERE to listen to it. The lyrics are below…

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

As I was getting ready this morning, Gideon was in his rocker chair and he was doing what he always does-staring aimlessly towards the light. So of course my mind began to wonder, on top of all his other issues, will he ever be independent to do the smallest task, like walk from the bathroom to the kitchen??

So with that question my mind went down that road of all the challenges he would face with his vision & hearing impairment and I thought to myself, Lord how will he and I ever get through this? It was at that moment that my K-Love app began playing this song…and I lost it.

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Do those lyrics speak to you like they do me? I’ve sang this song countless times and praised Him for carrying me through past trials. But in the midst of my recent storm, I often forget just how faithful He is. I forget that I have stood on the mountain top and God never let me climb it by myself. I am never asked to face anything alone. Never once, has God left me to my own strength. Psalm 23 is just one great reminder of that truth.

Are you walking through a difficult season in your life? Is your battle ground covered with blood, sweat and tears? Have you cried out to God to fix your situation and He’s never seemed more silent?? Please know you’re not alone.

Sometimes I feel so broken- struggling with how I will go on one more day. And somehow in those moments, like an infant snuggle into the chest of her father, I realize that He’s carrying me. And as crazy as it sounds, I find joy…because I’m not alone.

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone

God always finds a way to remind me that I’m not alone. Just like I do with Gideon. Even though he can’t see me and can barely hear me, I still find a way to make sure Gideon knows I’m there…that he’s never alone.

And I believe God does the same for us.

If you’ve been around my family longer than a minute, then you probably know about our love for the marriage ministry called ReEngage. We went through the 16 week course with our life group and to say it changed how we do marriage is an understatement.

It’s no secret that Kevin and I have a “Jerry Springer” kind of past and although we had reconciled before ReEngage, this ministry still did amazing things for our marriage. We learned so much from our leaders and the other couples in our small group; but I think our favorite part of this ministry was the large group time. That’s where we would meet with everyone in the sanctuary to hear a couple’s testimony. Let me just say, these stories were not for the faint of heart- they were raw and real! I remember sitting in the audience after our first- I leaned over to Kevin and said, “I can’t believe they ever got back together!”

I tell you this because Lakepointe Church in Rockwall is having a special couple speak this Tuesday, November 12th at 6:30 pm- Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs. Their story was featured on the TODAY SHOW and their book, “I Do Again” is changing lives and changing marriages. It’s my hope that if you’re in the DFW area, you’ll visit this Tuesday evening; but if you don’t live close, I hope you’ll at least visit their WEBSITE and read about their story.

My favorite thing about listening to couples share their story at ReEngage is that they all have a common theme. They all said there was no hope to save or reconcile their marriage. Many faced issues like pornography addictions, affairs, pride, lies, neglect…I could go on… But no matter what they faced, God brought redemption.

I love the ReEngage ministry’s quote- “Whether your marriage needs to be REIGNITED, or is in need of a complete RESURRECTION, RE|ENGAGE is a safe place for couples to RECONNECT.”  Come out this Tuesday and hear this amazing couple’s story-there’s absolutely no obligation to be involved in or support this ministry.  You can simply just come and listen to them speak. (Did I mention child care is provided??)

Kevin and I are looking forward to hearing their story. Jeff and Cheryl are not your typical divorced couple. Because years later, when all hope seemed lost, God redeemed- allowing them to say, I Do Again. 

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Lake Pointe Church

ReEngage – Lake Pointe Church

November 12th -Room C100- 6:30pm

Childcare is available

“I understand.”

Two words that should be used with extreme caution. Because the truth of the matter is, sometimes we just can’t understand. Unfortunately, there are things in this world that we will never understand.

Webster’s dictionary defines understand as “to be thoroughly familiar with; to apprehend clearly the character, nature or subtleties of…”

This past Tuesday I took Gideon to a research facility to have his vision examined. I was not surprised when the girl administering the test could not get him to look at the first card. I explained to her that we had received a diagnosis of PBD since our last visit and with that, she went to get the Optometrist on staff. So a very young doctor came in and after doing some testing with light, she determined that Gideon was legally blind as opposed to totally blind (apparently he has light perception…meaning he turned his head towards the light where it was being shown).

Even though I was not surprised by this, hearing it out loud sent me into a moment of tears. So she gave me that look and with a tone of confidence, she said those two words that boil my blood… “I understand.” At that point, my emotional despair quickly turned into anger and frustration. I took a deep breath, gave her the benefit of the doubt and sweetly questioned, “Do you have children?” After she replied no, I took a page from my friend Holly’s book and said, “Hmmm.”

I was thinking about taking the opportunity to educated her about inappropriate responses to another’s tragedy, but I thought my words might come across as harsh. So I chose to be quiet. After all, I do not know her whole story any more than she knows all of mine.

And then it happened again.

I had just given her a little more detail about my son’s diagnosis and in the middle of my tearful explanation she said, “It’s okay, I understand.” 

And with that, I asked her (very sweetly I might add), “Do you know someone who is blind and deaf? Do you have other patients with this terminal disorder?” To which she replied, “No….. but my grandmother was blind.” At this point I was too angry to educate. Since the appointment was basically over, I asked her if there was anything else she needed to do. As she shook her head no, I gathered my kids and left.

I wanted to share this story for a few reasons. First of all, everyone’s life experience is different and it’s so hard to know what to say in the midst of someone’s brokenness. Obviously, I do NOT have the market cornered on despair, but I have learned some things that are appropriate when someone shares their heartache and I would like to share them with you all now…

1. Silence is okay and often times needed. I have very much come to appreciate my friends who can just be with me with no words spoken. But if you MUST say something, go with your feelings for them. A friend once told me, “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but my heart hurts for you and I’m here to walk beside you.” That statement meant so much.

2. Listen more than you share. It’s so important to wait to share your experience with tragedy. While your experience may be relevant, it’s always a good idea to wait for an invitation to tell your story. What you have to share may truly be on par with someone else’s hurt, but in the moment of someone’s tears and brokenness, your story may not bring as much comfort as you think.

3. “I understand” is not the best thing to say. Truthfully we can never understand what someone else is experiencing unless we’ve been through something similar; and even if we’ve been through something similar, our lives are so unique that we still cannot understand another’s life experience. Only Jesus can do that.

4. **Stay away from clichés– “Everything happens for a reason” and “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle” etc….those words are not comforting in moments of grief. I will be the first to testify that God works everything for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) and His grace is sufficient for our trials (2 Corinthians 12:9). Yet, clichés like the ones mentioned above,  have never made a grieving person feel better about their situation. I haven’t heard of anyone who wrote “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle” on a note card to reference/lift their spirits throughout the day. On the other hand, scriptures (like the two mentioned above) is always worth re-reading in moments of despair.

I am in no way upset with that sweet girl who said she understood. In fact, there may have been more to her story that she could not share with me for professional reasons. Honestly, had I dove in with my feelings, I would have said some things I might regret and my words would have fallen on deaf ears. In that moment I decided to extend some grace…after all, Christ does that for me. (Romans 5:8).

This past Tuesday reminded me that loving others even when their words hurt, is hard. Nevertheless, I do not believe for one second that people intentionally extend hurtful words to those who are grieving. Honestly, it’s just down right difficult to know what to say when someone is in the depths of despair. And that’s okay.

I learned through my counseling classes saying, “I understand” does more damage than good; and after this past Tuesday, I know first hand how much it hurts. It took me some time, but I have finally realized that the only person who truly understands our hurts, our grief and our despair…is Jesus.

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**On a side note, if you have ever said any kind of cliche to me in these past few months, please know that I am not offended by them. I am very much appreciative that you took the time to encourage us and we are aware that your heart is sincere. Your love and care for us is beyond anything we could ask for, and we are so grateful for all the support that we have received, no matter what form it came in-words, actions, or silence. Thank you for loving us the best way you know how.