TRUST IN GOD

Dad was not feeling well. We were all thinking the same thing – he may be at the end of his struggle. We were going to have to move him from his assisted living home, where he had spent three wonderful years, to a nursing home. While he didn’t say anything, he knew he had to move. This was so typical of him — he knew what was happening, but he didn’t really voice his feelings or his concerns. He was looking to us, to me, to make the decisions. I explained we had a couple of choices. He looked at me, knowing full well my opinion, without me having to say anything further. He trusted me with his future, with his care, with his well-being. What an honor, what a responsibility, what an act of love on his part. Dad passed away within a week.

Three months later, my daughter gave birth to a beautiful son, Jacob. Not only was I struck by how life’s cycles are so amazing, but as I watched Christy and Bob care and love Jacob, I again reflected on trust and God’s love for us. Jacob, like Dad, needed help; needed someone on whom he could depend for care and love. Jacob, like Dad, was turning himself over to someone who would provide love.

We need to trust God; we need to honor him and love him by trusting him, just as Dad trusted me and just as Jacob trusts his mother and father. The message of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is that God is love, expressed in His ever-present grace; a love beyond our understanding. Going hand-in-hand with His grace is trust. To fully experience God’s grace, we have to trust Him. This happens when we turn ourselves over to Him, recognizing there is no other real answer. Turn to God. Trust him. He will provide all we need. If we have God’s grace, his love, what else is really needed?

— Ed Federico

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist