2 Corinthians 7

A Godly Grief

KATIE DRAKE | GUEST Have you ever done something you said you’d never do? If your answer is yes, you aren’t alone. As a therapist, I have read many helpful resources on parenting and child development, so as I entered motherhood in 2020, there were particular things I mentally said I would never do. One of those things was that I wouldn’t raise my voice at my children. I remember vividly one of the first times I raised my voice at my children. I was three months postpartum after having my third. I felt desperate for a moment to myself and a warm shower. I fed my newborn, placed him in his bouncer seat, and stepped into the comfort of the hot shower. Within a few minutes, my two- and three-year-olds ran into the bathroom beginning to ask things of me. Soon they began to fight with one another. I first calmly spoke from the shower, but their frustration with each other intensified. I felt an overwhelming sense of desperation and anger rise in me. I stepped out of the short-lived shower and yelled, “Stop! Just stop it!” I saw the look of bewilderment and fear in their eyes; one quickly moved into the corner of the bathroom, and the other started sobbing. It was their small faces and reactions that made the moment so vivid. I instantly felt shame and guilt, but the shame spoke the loudest: “You’re such a bad mom,” “You said you’d never do that,” “What kind of mother yells at a 2 and 3-year-old?”...

When a Tree Falls: God’s Faithfulness in Trials

In September of 2019 I embarked on a journey along with my husband. He walked 1,300 miles from Pittsburgh, PA to Orlando, Florida; I biked 310 miles from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC. My husband loves doing crazy things and for some reason, I typically come alongside him! An Unexpected Obstacle For the first 310 miles of his “walk” I biked “with” him, although 98% of the time I was alone on the trail. He would get up each morning and begin his day on the trail while I drove 20-25 miles ahead to a trailhead, where I would park my car unload my bike and all the gear, get on my bike and ride back toward him, typically about 11 or 12 miles. Then once we met up, I would bike ahead of him his last 11 or 12 miles for the day, waiting for him every 5 miles until we reached the car. We would then set up camp and sleep until morning. We repeated this daily until we reached Washington, DC. (At this point our friend supported him with an RV and I drove to Florida to await his arrival 55 days later.) I consider myself a “brave chicken.” I typically think of everything that could possibly go wrong with a plan, but I tell myself that if I don’t do “it” I will miss out, so I push through with my chicken heart and my brave soul! This usually consists of a lot of research, planning, and even more prayer. But sometimes, even with all the research, planning, and prayer, the unexpected arises. And on this journey, it came about on Day Two. I was about 6 miles into my morning ride heading toward my husband, when I encountered a huge tree that had fallen on the trail. There was no way around it, over it, or under it. My only option was to go through it, carrying my gear laden bike. I had to lift it over part of the tree while ducking under a huge branch. There was also a tangled mess of vines I had to precariously walk through while I was climbing, carrying, and ducking!! God’s Faithfulness Through Trials Once I got through this obstacle, I took a break to reflect a bit on the scene. I was instantly reminded of my life—a life that has been filled with many unexpected tragic events that can seem overwhelming if I dwell on them too much. It made me consider the truth that in each of these events, there was no way around, over, or under, only through them. And it was through those situations that God refined me. His plans for each of these tragedies in my life drew me closer to Him in ways that on my own I could never have handled. Even in the events that occurred prior to my salvation, He used to prepare me to trust Him....