Daughters of Promise September/October 2014 | Página 12

intense sorrow. But there is no greater richness
than to have life fall apart and still be unshaken
because of a foundation of knowing Who God
is. To have no other Hope but Jesus; to have only
His truth and His promises sustain me has given
me an assurance of His presence that is precious
beyond words. In the agonizing grief of these last
months, I have learned to lean all the weight of
my soul on the Lord because He is the only solid
rock I have, and have found Him to be so near,
so faithful, so sufficient, so redeeming.
I’m realizing just how much of a shadow life on
this earth is compared to the glorious reality
of eternity. I’m also realizing – slowly – that just
because I have suffered great loss and just
because I mourn so deeply does not mean life
has been stripped of purpose. The truth is Jesus is
my life. And because He lives, for me to live is not
motherhood; it’s not being a wife; it’s not being a
woman known for ministry or hospitality, although
all of those things are good and honorable. For
me to live is simply Christ. He is how I survive pain
that should strip a person down to their natural
response of anger, bitterness and depression.
Christ is Who I wake up for in the morning, how
I make it through the day, and why I can rest
peacefully at night.
Trials and pain are why this earth groans for the
return of the Lord and I groan with it. And the
question for us as believers is how do we live in
pain, in loss, in heartbreak, in unbearable sorrow?
How do we steady our hearts - not just survive - in
a fallen world? How do we seek God’s face, His
purposes, and His joy so that He is glorified through
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our earthly bodies? We search the scriptures to
know the character and person of God. We
ask Him to reveal Himself in our lives. We build a
foundation of truth instead of allowing emotions
and circumstances to dictate and dominate our
theology. We understand everything the world
offers as coping mechanisms and quick escapes
from pain is only sinking sand and instead we
stand on Christ the Solid Rock. We carry our
burdens to Him and allow our broken, humble
lives to showcase to the world how good and
faithful and trustworthy our God is.

MEET THE AUTHOR
Ervina Yoder is a twentyfive year old who never
wanted to grow up
but changed her mind
because every new
year of learning more
about Jesus is the best.
She loves being married
to her very tall, dark and handsome husband,
and living in their brick home in the city. She’s
mommy to the cutest little boy you’ve ever seen
who’s waiting for them in heaven. Traveling is
in her blood and she has the stamps to prove
it (although her passport was stolen a year ago
so she’s officially stuck in the country for the
time being). Pretty things are her favorite and
her husband is getting close to forbidding her
frequent trips to Goodwill where the bargains
are just too good to pass up. The reason she
journals is to remember the faithfulness of God
in her life.