Blessings

I've been counseling a young lady who lives in a foster situation. She's experienced a lot of pain and suffering during her short life. She didn't have a carefree and protected childhood. She's had to grow up too soon. Fortunately, she's one of those resilient individuals who are able to find hope and light in difficult and dark circumstances. She's also a deep thinker and creative. She shared with me this poem, which she wrote in darker days:

What Happened?

We used to love each other
We used to be so close
I used to call you mother
But something changed

Your heart so loving
Changed one day
All your love for me
Suddenly went away

We used to laugh and play
We never used to fight
All our sunny days turned
Into a dark stormy night

I don't know what happened
We used to love each other
I hope this storm passes
I really need my mother

When my client read this poem to me, I was deeply impacted. I wondered why this lovely young woman suffered.

I question God often as I sit and listen to the hurting folks who come through our doors. Questions like: "Why did Grace get raped?" "Why did Emily's husband leave her?" "Why would Beth's parents treat her so abominably?" And, "Why did you allow that, God?" Sometimes God answers me. His Spirit gently whispers, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."

Laura Story is a singer/songwriter who wrote the song below. When my "whys" become too weighty for me, I find this song and remember God's grace.

Blessings

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.

All the while You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?

What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel you near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough.

And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe.

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home.

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can't satisfy?

And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?

Credits:
songwriters: story, laura mixon
Copywright: new spring publishing

You can find the audio at: http://www.youtube.com/

Shannon Shertzer, MS, NCC