For It Is Not The Rock Upon Which I Stand That Ebbs And Flows, But The Sea That Surrounds Me

It's been a really hard week. It's been a really great week! It's amazing how that can happen. But you know it too, because you've had weeks just like that. We've been given the worst news and we've received some of the best news ever! My mother and her baby sister, Carolyn, were both diagnosed with lung cancer a year ago. Prior to either of their hospitalizations or diagnosis the Lord had given us a dream warning us to be prepared for what was ahead and to "bring Him some hope, so that He would have something to work with."  Remember, "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Now don't get me wrong, He expects us to have fear. He knows there is an enemy for our soul who uses fear to paralyze us. That's why He left us 365 scriptures in His Word that command us to fear not. He knows us so well, that He left us one for every day of the year! So He acknowledges that we will wrestle with fear and He expects us to bring it to Him and wrestle with Him until we walk away with His peace.

So we are doing a "Happy dance" for our precious Aunt Carolyn as she has come through her one year check up CANCER FREE!!! We couldn't be happier or more grateful! Unfortunately, my sweet Mama's report wasn't as good. BUT.GOD.IS! We hope she only has to endure 3 Chemo treatments and this will be behind her. We will be bringing Him all of the hope that we can carry. No matter how bad we hate this for her, we TRUST Him!

I have been reading in the book of Revelation this week. This morning I read, Chapter 21: 1 where Love reminded me "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea." I thought to myself...no sea? Wow! Kind of sad for those of us who love the sea! Why no sea I wondered? But I have learned when I don't understand His ways I choose to trust His heart, His character. Later in the day I text my cousin to tell her how excited we are about the fantastic news Aunt Carolyn had received. In the text we celebrated the fact that He is the rock that we build our lives on.

I began to talk to Him later and thank Him for being my rock. I'm not sure who wrote it, but one of my favorite statements of all time is "For it is not the Rock upon which I stand that ebbs and flows, but the sea that surrounds me." As I continued to thank Him that no matter how bitter sweet our lives are I am so grateful that He never changes. He is the Rock that never budges, never falters, and it is only the sea of my life that sometimes washes over me making me feel that I may drown. It was at that moment that He reminded me of the scripture I had read only hours before...one day we will be ushered in to a new heaven and a new earth and there will NO LONGER BE ANY SEA! That which ebbs and flows over and through our lives making us feel that we might certainly drown will be no more. There will no longer be a sea full of fear and strife determined to wash over us and cause us to lose our footing on the Rock upon which we stand!

I don't know about you, but He makes me some kind of happy! Where we are going, is going to be beyond any beach we have ever seen or imagined! If we lean into Him really hard...I think we can already hear the waves subsiding!!!