Pslam 118

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: "His love endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever." In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The LORD's right hand has done mighty things! The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!" I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.- Psalm 118
"My dear friends, you must have a more certain way to know that God is good and loving than the variable circumstances of your life. We live in a world of death, disease, accident, natural disaster, human evil and human stupidity. You cannot know if God is good or if he is loving by examining the created order or the circumstances of your life. Evil happens to everyone, everywhere. Your ability to believe that God is good when everything is going good for you does not mean that you believe that God is good. Everyone can say God is good when good things are happening to him or her. But the only way you know if you really believe God is good is how you respond when evil comes upon you, as it surely will. If your confidence in God's goodness and love is based on anything other than what Psalm 118 describes you are living your life based upon a fantasy and there is a day coming when you will be crushed...If the way to know God is good and that he loves you is by how your life is going then our family can only conclude one thing: God hates Jared and he hates us. Either that is true or God is powerless to stop evil."- John Swanson

Not a day goes by that I do not think about Jared and his accident. These last few weeks however, he has been on my heart even more in prayer. My in-laws have amazed me. All of them. I have seen them on the best of days and the worst of days. I know my Mother-in -law has had it really hard. A few weeks ago admitting she had let go of a lot of the "mothering" things she used to do, one of her biggest being cooking. This did not go unoticed by the rest of us, we missed her homecooked meals. But she has made a goal to cook for 21 days straight, in the hopes that she can make it a habit and practice she loves again. But despite the hardship, and sometimes not knowing what to think, in the end she knew and believed that God is good. And he is.
Living with Jared the way he is now is hard. Not living the life he had dreamed of, and that his parents had dreamed of for him. He was passionate for Christ, loving all whom he encounted, never to be forgotten. But the visitors have become less. There are a few wonderful friends who are commited to making time to see Jared, and I know that means so much to his parents.
I love being at the house when everyone is there. We always have a great time together...always laughing. And Jared is present, and I am so glad he is. All of his siblings pitch in to help take care of him, and to watch his parents care for him humbles me so much for a reason I cannot even explain. Of course I wish none of this would have happened and that he was married with children of his own, we all do. There are good days and hard days. And there has been other hardships in our family that we have had to deal with.
My Father-in-law preached on Psalm 118 this past Sunday, about knowing the goodness of God no matter what is going on in your life. It is easy to say God is good when things are going well, he is blessing you, those around you. But what about when those times are bad? When things are hard, when all seems lost? God is still good. But do you think that? Do you really believe that? God is good no matter what is going on in our lives. Something to think about...