Effler Blog

Traveled to California on two separate occassions this summer to be with family and friends and of course, the beach. Little would I know that in a short period of time sad news would reach our family. Cancer--a word that has universal meaning.

My eyes turned to Jeremiah 8 this afternoon: "I drown in grief. I am heartsick...Is God no longer in Zion?..the crops are in, the summer is over, nothing has changed, we're still waiting to be rescued. I'm heartbroken, seized by grief. Is there no healing ointments?" (Jer. 8.1-22). As our summer draws to a close I can relate to Jeremiah's question, 'where is the healing?' There was a time in Jesus' life when two sisters asked the same question regarding their brother's failing health, that would result in death. Up until the resurrection of Lazerous, Jesus had "healed" many but had not raised anyone from the dead. My point, sometimes a mere miracle (and I do not mean to be discount miracles) is not enough to get some peoples attention-there are times when people need a "resurrection" to discover the fullness of God.

My brother, when hearing about his health challenges said to me, "I have gone through much of my life thinking I was doing life alone. I guess it has taken this for me to learn that maybe I have never been alone". Even as I write this our family waits on cat scans, doctor's reports and a surgeon's battle plan on how to proceed. When any of us reach a place like this in our lives it is way too late to learn how to pray. When pain crowds in, and life's circumstances crowd your best plans out, you must have have spent sometime with the Father in order to hear His voice. (As an aside,yesterday Kristen had a freak fall and broke a bone in her foot!). In times like the one I find myself in today I so relate to C.S. Lewis when he wrote upon processing the loss of his own wife, "God speaks to us in our joys but yells at us in our sorrow. Grief is God's megaphone to a deaf world." This writing breaks my summer silence on the blog. Welcome back readers. Please pray for my brother Bob and, Kristen's quick recovery...she promises me that we will go dancing!! (Just kidding).