Strength in Adversity

 

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”*

While walking TJ our lab around a park one afternoon, some brightly colored parachutes caught my attention. A girl’s high school track team was practicing on the track adjacent to the park. Several of the girls, wearing harnesses with parachutes attached, were running down the field against the wind. On their way back to the starting point, the empty parachutes dragged behind.

What a good way to build strong leg muscles!  I watched to see if any of the smaller girls would become airborne, but they all managed to stay on the ground! It appeared that the parachutes weren’t large enough to bear the weight of a person; however, they provided great resistance once filled with wind. 

That kind of workout does not appeal to me. I don’t like to have the wind blowing in my face! Once when Al and I were driving from California to Michigan, we stopped at a campground in Montana for lunch. A brisk wind made it difficult to put the tablecloth on the picnic table.

 “Quick, go find something to anchor the tablecloth,” I called out to Al, while trying to hold it down. He returned with two bottles of pop. The wind blew so hard however, that the bottles toppled over and rolled off the table, leaving me clutching the tablecloth with one hand.

“Get me out of this horrid place!” I yelled, before he had time to sit down at the table.

 There were windy days in the central valley of California too. In fact, many plants would disperse their seeds by tumbling along the ground, after drying up and detaching from their roots. Great numbers of these “tumbleweeds” could be seen piled up along fences and other obstacles in their way.

Remember standing as a child with your back to the wind and arms stretched out wide, then tilting back on your heels, hoping that the wind would keep you from falling over backwards?  I never fell over, although maybe I didn’t trust it enough to lean back far enough!

The sheer force of the wind can be overwhelming. We have experienced some powerful storms since living here in Michigan. My first reaction is still to get inside as quickly as possible.

I could never be a storm chaser!

 Sometimes calamities are described as the winds of adversity. Satan stirred up the winds of adversity against Job, whose story unfolds in the Old Testament book of Job. Not only did Job lose his servants and livestock after an attack by raiders, he also lost his ten children when a gale struck the house where they were having a feast, causing it to collapse. On top of all of that, Job’s body was afflicted with sores and boils.

Job’s response? “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27 NIV)

He didn’t renounce God or curse Him. Job’s faith in God kept him strong in spite of the terrible things that happened. Faith in Jesus as our Redeemer and Savior sustains us as well, when the winds of adversity come against us.   

Our daughter, Shanda, has been suffering from cancer for eight long years. In 2020 she was diagnosed with Leptomeningeal disease and faced the grim prospect of having only a few months to live.  In spite of that prognosis, she recently celebrated her 51^st birthday, “Barbie” style! What fun it was to dress in pink and to attend her Barbie birthday party, along with more than a dozen friends and family members. Her strong spirit has inspired many people, including me!

Since the beginning of Shanda’s illness, there has been a tremendous outpouring of love and support. And every prayer offered on her behalf, as well as on behalf of the family, has made a great difference. The Lord has been faithful to help us and to give us strength from day to day.

 Jesus, our Redeemer defied death and lives! One day we will see Him face to face.  May the winds of adversity only make us stronger in our faith! Praise be to God!

*Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

(Picture of Al, Al's youngest sister Ann, and Judy...decked out in pink for Shanda's Barbie party.)