“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Isaiah 43:2 NIV
A Series of Unfortunate Events
We recently went through what I refer to as “the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad month.” It began when our washing machine broke. We shopped around and settled on a new washer/dryer combo. Even though we measured, it didn’t fit down our stairs. We placed another order for a model that we knew would fit (we measured a million times). When that arrived, the washer worked, but the dryer didn’t. So, the dryer had to be replaced again.
Meanwhile, one of the tires on our van was slashed and we found out we didn’t have a spare tire on the day my mom was flying in to visit! So, we borrowed a friend’s vehicle to pick her up from the airport. We couldn’t use the van until they could replace the tire… in 2 days!. My husband was scheduled for surgery on his wrist that day, so we borrowed another friend’s vehicle to get to and from the hospital (thank goodness for our community!!)
The Bad Luck Continues
The surgery went well, however 2 days later one of his incisions became infected. We went back and forth between urgent care and doctors—one minute it was infected, then it wasn’t, then they discovered a hematoma. In the end, he needed IV antibiotics as it was in fact infected. To make matters worse, the hematoma burst. I should mention that my husband has a bleeding disorder, so they were concerned about internal bleeding. An ultrasound, MRI, and 6 hours later, it showed there was no bleeding internally. He was to stay on antibiotics and continue his bleeding disorder treatment.
The next week our daughters were off school and I had taken the week off work. We were all looking forward to some quality time with my Mom. That was not meant to be – on the second day, my daughter was running down a hill at the park when she tripped, fell, and broke her arm just above the elbow. Off to the hospital we went again!
That same day, my husband started feeling unwell and came down with a 24-hour stomach bug. The next day, my mom began feeling sick. To top it off, my daughter—the one with the broken arm—was supposed to be baptized that weekend. We had to postpone it when her sister woke up Sunday morning feeling ill. I was done!
Hope in the Struggle
I know that many people face worse situations than we experienced, I’m not trying to downplay that at all. However, for us, it was a real struggle—emotionally, financially, and physically. We felt like we were drowning, unable to catch our breath or catch a break.
How on earth do we get through times like this? Isaiah 43:2 gives us the answer: “I (God) will be with you.” No matter what we’re facing or where we are in life, God promises to be with us—through the good and the bad.
How can we be so certain, especially when we’re caught in the midst of the storm? Look back over your life and you’ll see—no matter how messy things seemed to be, God is always there, holding you through it all. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, ever. Not only that, He has a way of taking those painful moments and turning them into something good.
Oh friend, when you’re walking through the valleys of life, and we all do— when nothing seems to make sense—remember: God is with you and he loves you so much! You are never alone! He is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13), and He will never, ever change (Hebrews 13:8).
