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Passing Through

Our community has been hit. Hard.  Through various losses, we are clinging to every ounce of hope that we can muster.  This sense of loss isn't new, but it is ongoing.  The most recent loss to affect me in a very profound way is that of Mr. Donald Etheridge.

Mr. Etheridge gave me the job that I have today (teaching 5th-8th grade theatre and show choir).  He was a gentle giant of a man who never made a point to stand out but always smiled.  He was a good boss and so supportive of a nervous young teacher trying to build a theatre program from the ground up.  When I stressed about upcoming performances, he would smile and simply remind me that it would come together. It always did.  I could spend this entire blog writing about this man and his marked impact on my life.  

But his loss isn't the only one felt.  There are others.  So much so that I have felt suffocated in the midst of it all.  And the words of Psalm 23 have never felt so real...

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.



In a quiet moment of washing dishes and praying peace over the families who have suffered loss, I cried out to God.  I told God that I am walking through the valley of the shadow of death.  Then I thought about something Pastor Chuck told us.  WE walk through the valley.  God doesn't put us there.  We go there, but He meets us there.  

I realized that sometimes we pass through the valley of the shadow of death literally. Not because we are trying to be in places we shouldn't.  Not because we've done anything wrong.  But because we experience loss in this life.  Someone we love dies.  The shadow of death comes upon us, and we have to pass through.  But God is with us.

Then God took the conversation.  He reminded me of the rest of the verse: His rod and staff comfort me.  Well, a rod and staff don't sound too comforting to me.  In fact, the rod was used to prod the sheep along.  And if one wandered too far away, the crook of the staff would snatch them back to keep guiding them along the path they needed to pass through.  So I questioned this.  And God showed me something beautiful.  Here I am in the valley of the shadow of death bouncing and rolling like a ball.  And I see his rod on one side protecting me and prodding me forward.  His staff is on the other side pointing and guiding me in the direction I go.  His rod.  His staff.  They comfort me.  Because I can't get out of this valley by myself. And I don't have to because God is with me.  Guiding me forward as I pass through.  

Loss in this life is sad for those of us left to miss the person we loved.  For the believer, we have hope  in Jesus Christ that we will be reunited in heaven which brings so much peace during times of grief. So many in our small community have lost someone, especially in the last year.  Friend, I'm praying for you.  I'm singing songs of peace and reaching out to heaven to lift you up. Even better though, is that God is WITH you.  His rod and His staff are comforting you as you pass through.

© Jill Cook, Unbroken & Undone Ministries. All rights reserved.


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