JoAnna’s Journal

“Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.”

I came across these hymn lyrics (again) today and thought they were highly applicable.

I was reading in Job the other night and read the part where messengers come to him and tell him everything that he had was completely destroyed (including his children). The Bible says that Job fell to his knees – and from here I demonstrate my lack of “God perception” versus how much Job perceived – I expected it to say “and He wept bitterly.” But it doesn’t say that. It says that He worshipped the Lord.

That was truly humbling for me to realize. Everything was gone, but Job never once cursed God. He declared that even if the Lord destroyed him, He would praise. He also declared that his Redeemer lives.

That’s amazing faith. I want that kind of faith, but most of the time it comes with stipulation to God like, “God give me that faith, but don’t make me go through anything hard to get there.”

Well, this situation with my mom is definitely difficult, but we keep believing that she will be healed.  With the hope of her coming home, we rejoice – But we also pray for complete healing from head-to-toe, inside and out.

I am reminded that even though I may be weary, Jesus isn’t. He never grows tired

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So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. If you’re tired and you are thirsty, there is freedom. Freedom reigns in this place, showers of mercy and grace falling on ev’ry face. There is freedom. Jesus reigns in this place, showers of mercy and grace falling on ev’ry face. There is freedom. (song by Jason Upton)

As I hear the distant boom of fireworks at the Rose Bowl and we celebrate the freedom of our country, the Dias’ (and our friends) celebrate a huge freedom for my mom – freedom from the ICU into a single room in the oncology ward.

I keep thinking about how year after year people have begun to forget the true meanings of holidays, but my mom never has. She loves Fourth of July, she loves our country, and she appreciates our freedoms.

My mom has been a prisoner to the pain of her own body. Inside, she has been herself all along, but this pain has kept her captive. We pray that, as God heals, He will bring freedom – freedom of health and freedom of physical ability. As I lay in bed this morning enjoying a day off, I was thinking about how four friends lowered their lame friend on a mat to see Jesus because they believed Jesus could free him from his physical “prison.” Jesus knew what the man needed most, and instead of healing him, He forgave Him from the prison of sin – the true merciless prison. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He granted physical healing as well – physical freedom. (Mark 2)

As we celebrate Independence Day, we thank God for the freedoms that our country has. We thank God for the people who have fought for us and the people who continue to do so. We thank God for our liberties in this country, but we also thank Him for the liberty that He gave us through

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Just to warn you, I really don’t have a common thread, just a lot of thought “bits and pieces.”

In Bible study, as we sent off a couple of leaders who are moving, they were talking about how our pastor has been a spiritual father for them and how he changed their lives. In explanation, our pastor talked about the importance of having a mentor or spiritual parent … What does this have to do with my mom you ask?

Well, I have never needed a “spiritual mother” – well, I have, but God has blessed me with a spiritual and biological mother all wrapped up into one. When all my friends were inconsistent, my mom has been consistent. She has always listened, always understood, and always encouraged. Sometimes, yes, she had to speak truth that wasn’t what I wanted to hear – but my mom has been my true friend. She has been a true mentor – not only leading by words, but by example. I think my mom is the only one who can still be in a hospital bed and encourage ME to have faith. We believe that God will heal her, and we wait in anticipation for Him to work wonders on our behalf.

Today Psalm 27:13-14 popped in my head: “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” We wait for the Lord to show His goodness. He is mighty, and He is able. Sometimes I am so impatient. I want this amyloidosis to go away, and I want my mom to be completely restored – NOW. But we wait for God’s perfect timing.
Going along with the passage from Luke 8, my friend pointed out to me that Jesus made the man with the sick daughter wait. It seems like Jesus got distracted and cared more about the woman tugging on his cloak than he did a twelve year old little girl. But Jesus didn’t. He had perfect timing. In HIS timing,

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