For You Are Good

         Yesterday at church we were singing a song and we got to a verse and this is what it said "for you are good, for you are good, for you are good to me..." as I sang these words I caught a glimpse of one of the strongest women that I know. As I looked at her she was singing these words and the tears began to stream down my face.


         I was in awe that a woman who has been through so many trials was standing, head held high and singing the words "for you are good, for you are good, for you are good to me..." As a young mother she went through a divorce, she later met the love of her life and he put his heart and soul into loving her and helping her to raise her son. Many years later she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. The outlook was bad, death was the expected outcome. If you know this lady it is no surprise that she fought the battle and won. The battle of cancer was one of the hardest I've heard about but her relationship with God and the love from her husband helped her to fight the cancer and win. This by the way was a surprise to her doctors and to those that knew just how bad the cancer was.

        Then this summer it was a normal Sunday morning she was going to walk with her neighbor and then get dressed for church just as she did most Sunday mornings. She walked to her husbands side of the bed to wake him and her heart sank. He had passed away in his sleep. He was too young for this, she was too young for this, they had just talked and laughed right before they went to bed. Once again devastation. It is now October and every time I look at her I see pure sadness in her eyes. I cry for her and pray for her often.

      Sunday I sang the words "for you are good, for you are good, for you are good to me..." and cried as I saw Alicia Brown singing these same words. I cried because those words come a little easier for me. I was sitting in the pew with my husband. I cried because I am not sure that I have her strength. Don't get me wrong there is not a day that goes by that she doesn't long for Ron to hold her and there probably has not been a night since he died that she has slept through the night. But she has a strength about her that only comes from God and even though she doesn't understand why she has faced so many battles and others around her have faced so little she continues to love the Lord and sing to Him. Thank you Alicia for your strength! Thank you for loving God even in this storm! You are truly teaching all of us as you weather this chapter of life! I love you!