Chrissy Lookabaugh
Isaiah 41:10:
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Turn on any television, radio, and media, and within minutes you will likely hear the phrase “these uncertain times.” This seems to be the theme of 2020, but the more I think about it the more I realize every year, day, moment, has been uncertain times. Stop and think for a second, has there ever been a day that you woke up and it went exactly as you planned or wanted? If so, have there been weeks, years, decades like that? My guess would be likely not. If I am wrong and your entire life has been perfect the way you planned, then I am overjoyed for you but the likelihood of that is very slim. I would imagine we all have some things we would do differently; hurts and disappointments, and things that make us fearful or sad.
My family is no stranger to things not going exactly as planned. We have had a few things pop up that have rocked us to our core. Our precious son, Camden, being diagnosed with cancer, Josh finding out that what we had brushed off as nerves was actually early-onset Parkinson’s disease, my own battle with anxiety and fear, Camden not being able to roll over let alone walk because the chemotherapy had ravaged his body, Camden’s chemotherapy port breaking and remaining in his chest after chemotherapy was completed. Seriously, sometimes we just think, "Can we get a timeout from hard things?" These are just extreme examples of things not going as we would have planned or wanted, but at any given moment there likely is something that could have gone better.
What about you? Have you ever had a day that you had car trouble, money problems, and relationship issues, or struggled in your job or school? You can insert your situations because I don’t pretend to know what everyone is facing.
We live in a world full of things that can go wrong, but we also are blessed to live in a world where things can go in the opposite direction as well. There were times that we didn’t wake up and know the blessings that were ahead. The day we woke up and Camden was in remission, the days we have that Josh is able to walk or talk or swallow normally, Camden being able to not just roll over or walk but to run and play basketball and thrive, the way the Lord provides for all of our needs and exceeds them with no worldly explanation, the call from a friend or loved one you desperately needed, the “air hug” (a safe version of hugging during the pandemic) that your soul longed for, this list too is endless. We have a choice in these uncertain times to show Christ’s love.
Each day we wake up and breathe is a gift and even those darkest of days, weeks, months, years, and so on in our lives, they have produced beautiful things like stronger priorities, love, care, and hope. Yes, there are always going to be uncertain times, and right now seems to be some of the most uncertain in history, but it does me good to remember Christ knows, loves us, and is always near, and that is our certainty in every uncertain time.
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