Redemption...

A lot has happened this weekend. And even though I wasn't there, I've felt the effects continuously. Because that's what happens when people you love are hurting...you hurt with them...

My mom went up to Fresno this weekend because her father has been very sick. No one knew what was wrong, and after many tests the doctors discovered that he had had a heart attack a few weeks back. Bad news. Then, after more tests, they learned that he also has a devastating disease...cirrhosis of the liver. Very bad news. News that could have been avoided had choices been made differently for many, many decades. There was pain that was never confronted from years of work as a homicide detective, resulting in issues that had been swept under the rug for a lifetime... and suddenly all emerged in one fateful turn of events.

It's funny how, when one loved one is given such grim news, we are all suddenly faced with our own mortality. As if we are truly put on this earth for more than just a breath... Life is short, and it is our job to make the most of it. What strikes me most, is that we spend so much time here trying to fill that God shaped hole in all of us with everything but Him. We buy the lie...money, careers, clothing brands, image, relationships, alcohol...it is meant to self medicate. To take away the emptiness that the world has to offer and give us a false hope of self fulfillment. But in the end Truth wins...guaranteed.

This is where redemption comes in. And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that God is using my grandpa right this very moment to reach out to his family. Because it doesn't matter the choices we've made in the past or the hurt we've caused others unintentionally, He uses us right where we are and just as we are. There is hope. Through it all His plan will prevail and we will all be the better for it, of this I am certain! I am hurting for those who are hurting, and very sad that this is where we are, but I also rejoice. Because God is not done with my grandfather yet, and He will use him for His purpose even if it is in the last years of his life. He hears our prayers and answers in His time...because God always keeps His promises...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28