UNIMAGINABLE
I Chronicles 4: 9-10 “His mother had named him Jabez, saying, I gave birth to him in pain. Jabez cried out to God of Israel, Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. And God granted his request. Genesis 12: 1-3 “The Lord said to Abraham…I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you, I will make your name great and you will be a blessing….and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
My husband, Danny and I went to see the musical Hamilton. There is a scene where Alexander Hamilton and his wife, Eliza are grieving the loss of their son. The song sung during that scene, “It’s quiet Uptown” struck us both deeply. Tears came to our eyes as we heard: There are moments that the words don’t reach, suffering to terrible to name…all the moments when your in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down….If you see them walking in the streets, have pity, they are working through the unimaginable.” I thought of all the times I have been told. “I can’t imagine what you are going through.” Yes, grieving the loss of a child, especially a traumatic loss is unimaginable. We are now working through the unimaginable loss of a second child and for me the loss of both of the children I gave birth to. Recently, I made a statement to a friend that I realized how out of shape I had become when I went on a rafting trip. He asked me why I had not been exercising and taking care of myself. I became defensive and explained that it was an effort to just get out of bed in the morning. I thought to myself, does he not realize how deeply I am hurting, how hard it is to live with this pain? He said, “You don’t look depressed, you don’t act depressed, there is a smile on your face”. My response was, “That is all God.” My Ego said silently, “You need to start acting sick and depressed.” I listened to that little devil for a moment then I remembered that I am choosing Joy. I can’t let the thoughts of others rule my thoughts and actions. This is between me and God. Pastor Chris Hodges sermon last Sunday was on the prayer of Jabez. He invited us to focus on what God wants for us instead of our pain so that we can be a blessing to others. A research project from Johns Hopkins university found that people with a family history and high risk factors of heart disease are 1/3rd less likely to have a cardiovascular event if they have a positive outlook. In fact, multiple studies have proven that a positive attitude improves outcomes across a broad spectrum of health conditions. Studies have also shown that a negative attitude weakens our immune response. If we focus our attention on the blessings God is going to bring through our painful experience, we are choosing to transform our pain into Joy and Peace. After watching Hamilton, I discovered that Elizabeth (Eliza) Hamilton focused her life on philanthropy and was instrumental in development of the first orphanage in America. That orphanage, currently Graham Windham family service agency, is over 200 years later, serving thousands of children and their families. Mrs Hamilton chose to transform her pain into the blessings of others through focusing on her mission rather than her misery.
WHERE IS YOUR FOCUS?