“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:37-39 (RSV)
I just joined a Facebook group called “Sisterhood of Widows”, and received many warm responses and personal welcomes from over 35 women already. I don’t think all the members are Christian but it’s a nice group to share with, in the areas we do have in common. I shared a brief story with them about my first year of widowhood, and was surprised that over 30 women responded to my story. I was so touched by their responses, that I decided to share the story in today’s meditation:
I remember about a year after my husband died, my dryer vent somehow loosened and needed replacement. I was so distressed I didn’t know whether to look up a handyman to call or to try and fix it myself. I knew if I did it wrong it could be dangerous, being a gas dryer. I was so frustrated and confused, all I could do was cry and pray. Then I felt within my spirit, my husband telling me to call Ben, his best friend. So I called him, and Ben drove over immediately. He looked at the problem, went right to Home Depot and returned with the new vent part and put it on for me. The dryer works fine ever since. I don’t know why it was so hard for me to ask for help. If we could only remind ourselves that our husbands would want us to reach out to friends or family and ask for help, whenever we need it. I taught myself how to do many other things, like patching a spot on the ceiling, and changing batteries in the smoke detectors on a 9’ ceiling, but sometimes we just need to ask for help. It’s not only what our husbands would want us to do, but it’s why we have friends and family. We miss our loved ones, it’s true, but we need to believe that their souls live forever, and if they live forever, they are still watching over us.
That was the end of my story posted on the Widows group page.
I think everyone, whether a widow or not, can learn something from this story. It’s hard for many of us to reach out and ask for help, but people are more willing to help us than we realize. God loves us and He sends people into our lives for a reason. We also have a great cloud of witnesses in heaven, who are watching over us, so we are never really alone, nor are we ever separated from God or His love for us. He has raised us up to be more than conquerors and we can do all things through Christ, but sometimes He wants us to do it with the help of other people He sends our way.
Lord, humble us so that we can ask for help when we need it, so that you can show us your love through those you send into our lives. Amen