Devotional

Comfort – Paula Hill

Paula HillIn the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul (Psalm 94:19).

Comfort In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul (Psalm 94:19). I was recently watching news reports of tornadoes that had torn through several states leaving a path of destruction and loss behind. Families retold stories that are repeated over and over during traumatic times and events no matter what the cause of these circumstances may be. Those kinds of loss leave an imprint on our minds and in our lives that will never be forgotten. During those times, most of us remember very distinctly where we were when devastating, life-changing events happened. I remember when the Twin Towers were hit by commercial airplanes, piloted by terrorists. I was at a Weight Watchers meeting. I heard it on the radio right before I got out of the car. I remember thinking that I had heard something wrong. It couldn’t possibly be true. I called my husband to see if he’d heard it, and he said yes, it was true. I got out of the car trembling and wondering if I should go home or what I should do. My daughter called from her home in Alabama terrified and in tears just wanting to be with her family at home. Scared. I wanted to go get my other two daughters from school and just pull my family all close to me. All of us were wondering if it would happen somewhere else too. Where is God? Does He know about this? I remember something else very devastating that happened when I was just 19 that is little known to anyone except a small segment of society, and not so earth shaking to many people other GRACE NOTES 27 than close friends and family My mother had gone to the doctor and been told that she had cancer and nothing could be done to stop it. She would live two years at the longest, the doctor said. It was on a Wednesday, and I remember coming home from work and hearing the news. I remember sitting in the bathtub (the only place to be alone) and crying and crying and feeling like my whole world had just crumbled right under my feet. Did God know? Yes, He did. Was our faith shaken? Strangely enough, no it wasn’t. We went on to church that night, and Mom sat in her normal place right on the second row. She stood and testified to the goodness of the Lord, raised her hands and praised God just as she had always done in the past. She realized that the condition of her physical body had nothing to do with her spirit and soul. Her earthly body would lose the battle, but she would not be defeated. She was victorious the moment she exited this life and became a member of heaven’s society—a perfect society. Someday, I’ll meet her there, and what a glorious reunion that will be.

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