God Redeems Life’s Wreckage
When life reels out of control and the wreckage is overwhelming, where do you turn?
September 10th is a big day at my house. It’s the day my husband Craig’s plane was discovered after being missing for weeks. Our hope and prayer was that both Craig and the plane would be recovered safely and intact, but that wasn’t what we found.
A pilot error, a thunderstorm, and a dark mountain created a trifecta of disaster. After an exhaustive search by the FAA, State Police, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol and NASA, Craig was finally discovered inside the crumpled aircraft wreckage where he’d obviously been killed on impact.
What do you do with that kind of news? Where do you turn for answers?
Ps. 121:2 says “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
There was nothing I could do but ask God for help and he was faithful to provide it to me.
He gifted me with closure in that Craig was found. I did not spend decades wondering and worrying. I was able to grieve and heal and eventually move on with my life.
He surrounded me with people who prayed for me and my children, who cared for us, who rose up and filled in the gaps where fathers and husbands are supposed to stand.
He filled in the emotional holes with peace, comfort, and even joy. He supplied the kindest teachers for the children at school. He surrounded me with friends who included me and
Craig had no life insurance, but God covered the financial gap with a good job for me and the benevolence of friends and strangers alike who showered us with thousands of dollars in gift cards and cash.
Eventually, He put Mr. 4-Ever in my life. It felt like God gave me back all that had been taken from me and more. Mr. 4-Ever was a fabulous addition to our broken family. He fit like an old shoe. Comfortable and dependable.
We got married and Mr. 4-Ever loved us the rest of the way back to wholeness. When he asked the boys if they would be willing to be adopted by him, they both jumped at the offer.
On September 10, exactly three years after we found Craig’s crash site on the mountain, our new family stood in front of a judge and became the official 4-Ever family.
God’s sovereignty doesn’t mean that nothing bad happens.
It means that nothing bad that happens is beyond God’s ability to redeem it. From broken to wholeness. From lost to found. From wreckage to restoration.
Do you believe that? Can you trust God with the broken, lost, wrecked things in your life? Your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, too.
Prayer: God Almighty, be bigger than my circumstances. Overwhelm me with your love. Show me how to trust you when my world is falling apart. Amen
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Us today – Jake, Me, Dave, Eli and his wife Kym.
For the rest of the story, read “The Widow Wore Pink: A True Story of Life After Loss and the Transforming Power of a Loving God”