As I was running errands with my mom yesterday, we were able to run into a lot of people that we knew or had at least met a few times. That tends to happen in the South so it was kind of expected. I was not, however, expecting the conversation we had with the lady that usually helps me at the place that I go to to get my glasses. She’s always very polite, but a lot has happened in her life in the past year or so that has made her a little more vocal about her life and her story. Despite numerous trips to buy glasses from her, yesterday was the first day I was really able to meet Sherry.
I was off in the corner, trying on glasses, as my mom struck up the conversation with Sherry. Again, nothing unexpected so far. It didn’t take Sherry long to move past the introduction of her daughters and start quickly into the testimony of her husband. At 48, her husband suffered a severe heart attack that was masked by the fact that he was diabetic and obese. What showed up as a case of bronchitis quickly escalated, and before he made it to his car in the parking lot of the doctor’s office, he suffered a seizure and dropped dead in the parking lot. By this time, I had left the mirrors and the endless lines of glasses to hear more of Sherry’s story.
As she was telling the events of that day in the hospital, she jumped back a week to tell the story of a prayer meeting that she had attended. This particular meeting was a foot washing hosted by one of the leaders, and Sherry had a prophetic encounter that didn’t mean anything to her until a week later. The lady that was washing her feet looked up to her and said, “God has given you all the strength you need to face what is going to happen. Your husband will have the strength and peace.” Of course at this time, Sherry didn’t know what was going to happen, and the lady washing her feet had no idea what it meant, but it was a word that had a lifetime of meaning in just one week.
Sherry then told us about how her husband had been in so much pain and agony, and she had just been praying peace and healing over him. It wasn’t until after the seizure stopped that Sherry was able to see the look of complete peace of being pain free come over her husband just before he took his last breath. She told us how thankful she was for that moment because she knew that not only had the pain completely left her husband, but in her words, she “was able to see her husband walk up to the gates of heaven.” Whenever people questioned her about how she was taking this tragic event so well, Sherry was able to give them all the same answer. It was because God had already given her the strength to face all that was coming up.
Some people say that religion is just one of those things we use to make ourselves feel good about what’s happening around us. We can always pass the blame off to “God’s sovereign plan” instead of dealing with the emotions that tragedies bring up. Sure, there are a lot of vague coincidences that may lead up to an event in our lives that we can try to pass off as God’s work, but I don’t fully buy that. Maybe this word from the prayer leader was just a random word of encouragement that she speaks to everyone. Maybe that look of peace happens to thousands of people when they die. Maybe Sherry is just trying to help herself cope with this thought of God’s bigger plan. But if I’m being honest, I don’t buy any of that.
God is at work in our lives, and I’m not going to explain it away as sheer coincidence. Christianity isn’t something I use to make myself feel better because there are a ton of days that being a Christian is the hardest role to play. But I don’t stick it out because I’m stubborn and I want to hold on to something. I stick it out because I believe God is who he says he is, and nothing can explain that away from me. I’m fine with not being able to wrap my head around God or understand why things happen the way they do. Despite all the tragedies of natural disasters, unfair diseases, and untimely deaths, I have hope in this world and where we’re headed. I have hope because we have a God in charge, and I’m not him. He’s much better at his job than any of us could ever be…
