Mosaic Momma

As part of my Be-Wildered Series , I wanted to share this "Lament" that was written by a dear friend of mine.  To be honest, I was a bit afraid to read it initially, because I was not sure I could handle the waves of emotion. You see, my friend Gina has suffered. My smart, strong, confident, accomplished, independent friend has been brought low these two years by intolerable, persistent chronic pain. She has tried e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g to attempt to find a measure of relief, to get the pain to stop, to find out the mystery of what was happening inside of a body that has seemed to betray her. As a friend, it's been hard to watch her struggle and fight and surrender and now lament through something that feels often like a cruel punishment from the God we both love and have followed our entire lives. There are no lofty words to bring comfort. No scripture verses that ease the burning. There is only sitting in the sometimes awkward silence of suffering and holding on t...

Two Christmases ago, I knew that I was entering into a brand new season of my life. I knew full well that things would be changing profoundly and significantly. And I was ready. I welcomed the change. But I wasn't prepared for the "other" that came along with the change. After the change. The seemingly innocuous ripple turned into a tidal wave that swept me out to sea...foundering, treading water, searching for the shoreline. The logistics of the change in question were wanted and expected, but the after-effects were not. What I did not realize then -- sputtering and flailing in that expanse of emotion -- was that I would never go back to that familiar shore. Instead, my friend Jesus navigated me to an island to rest my weary soul, collect my bearings, find a new compass point and just hang out with Him awhile. I don't regret it -- even in the toughest moments when the loss of The Before feels the keenest. Without that personal and spiritual tsunami, ...