Loretta Bushlack

loving life.

Countercultural

May 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Years ago, at age 14, my daughter Emily designed, printed and paid for her own business cards. Some of you may still have one on your refrigerator. It says, “Emily Bushlack, Babysitter.”  She built a pretty good book of business by handing those out to parents as they picked their kids up from Sunday school. She has learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed caring for lots and lots of your kids.

But I’ll never forget the time she came home from one job. It was her first time babysitting for this family. And she said, “Mom, you won’t believe it. The parents told the boys that they had to listen and obey…They actually used the word OBEY!”

What a concept. It stood out to her because it was rare and exceptional and helpful.

Obey.

That’s not a very popular word today. No one likes to be told what to do. And that is a very, very dangerous way to live–for our kids and also for us.

Certainly there have been abuses of authority all throughout the pages of human history and maybe even in some of our own stories. But we should be careful not to use that as an excuse for our own disobedience. There is such a thing as God-ordained authority. Parents have authority. Pastors have authority. And God has absolute authority.

As followers of Christ, I hope we all understand and accept that. And it would be excellent if we were training our children to understand it as well.

There’s an account in the Bible that illustrates God’s righteous response to rebellion. It’s from the book of 1 Samuel and it’s about the two sons of a priest named Eli. Here’s how they are introduced: 

“Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord” (1 Sam 2:12). 

Scoundrels! Seriously, if you read more you will agree they were really bad dudes. And because God has absolute authority, He has the right to inflict absolute consequences. They disobeyed and died. Their consequences weren’t like our kids’ consequences. They didn’t disobey and get a count to three. They didn’t disobey and get a time out. They didn’t disobey and get sent to their rooms. They had no regard for the Lord. As a result, when they disobeyed Him, they died.

Turns out there is a Holy God in Heaven who gets to be serious about being obeyed. 

Somewhere I fear we’ve forgotten that. I know I have. I often think of God as a good-natured grandfatherly god who has mellowed over the centuries. I can sometimes imagine he excuses, understands or ignores my bad behavior and the bad behavior of those I love. In fact, I also expect Him to bail us all out and remove hard consequences when we mess up. But a good Father doesn’t do that. 

A good Father knows what is best for his children. He has boundaries around their behaviors to keep them safe and healthy. He has rules to teach them to become responsible and kind. He has standards for their character and integrity. Because all these things strengthen the loving bond between them, he is serious about being obeyed.

Just to be clear: I’m not a fan of authoritarian parenting. In terms of Diana Baumrind’s four parenting styles, I’m squarely in the authoritative camp. I’m also not a legalist. I don’t believe obedience earns you salvation. I don’t believe obedience makes you a child of God. That gets the cart in front of the horse. 

Rather, when we are a child of God, the Holy Spirit gives us a heart that wants to obey. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16) and “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves” (Galatians 5:16 NLT). 

We no longer want to be scoundrels. We want to be like our good Father. Enjoying a loving relationship and avoiding the consequence of rebellion.

So even though it’s totally countercultural, let’s get serious about obedience. 

“”Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23).

Thankful for your sacred work as parents,

Don’t Miss His Best

May 14, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Your faith community is one place where you are meant to experience God's best.

I will never forget last Sunday. It was one of the most powerful times of worship I can remember. We were led in praise by some amazing and strong moms. And we got to join with parents in commitment to a lifetime of pointing their kids to Jesus. And we got to hear a powerful, personal, and painful testimony of conviction from my courageous and dear friend Laurie. And we got to behold and bow before a Holy God, stare our own sin in the face, and respond to the conviction of the Spirit by confessing our sins openly and honestly. Many of you came forward for prayer and confession. Such an incredible morning.

But many of you did not come forward for prayer and confession.

So I wonder why. And I want to encourage you to wonder why as well. Hopefully, it’s because you responded at lunch with a dear friend or that night with your spouse, or already this morning during your quiet time. If so, thank you for doing the hard work of confession.

But if not, please, please, do not let the word of the Lord and the voice of the Spirit go unheeded. I pray that whatever may have hindered you on Sunday or in the days since will not keep you from action today.

I’m outside of my comfort zone even typing this. I don’t want to be the bad guy bringing the hammer down. But I believe God is right now calling all of us at New Covenant to a higher level of holiness and I need to obey Him by continuing to exhort His people to obedience.

So, if you haven’t taken the time to respond to conviction yet, I want to encourage you to not wait another moment. Sit in silence and ask the Spirit to reveal to you an oblivious sin or give you the courage to confess to a trusted friend the blatant sin you know you carry. Right where you are as you read this you can confess, be washed clean, and have a burden of sin lifted from you.

He may be convicting you of:

  • Enslaving sins: Addictions, lusts, gluttony
  • Prideful sins: Vanity, gossip, arrogance, unforgiveness
  • Selfish sins: Greed, hypocrisy, not serving, not giving
  • Unbelieving sins: Fear, faithlessness, worry, despair

Whatever it is, I urge you to remember: conviction is not condemnation. Conviction is a gift. It shows God’s favor. It shows He is actively leading your spirit. He is caring for you as a loving Father who wants the best for His child. And His best is confession, healing, obedience, and power.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  James 5:16

I’m praying to see personal repentance become true revival.

Good Questions!

April 28, 2022 /

We recently took a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation to Hawaii. Sadly the adopted boys had to work, but the original six Bushlacks enjoyed over a week together on The Garden Isle of Kauai. I’m not gonna lie, it was paradise.

Our time included plenty of adventures. Snorkeling, rainforest hikes to see waterfalls, cliff jumping, boogie boarding, and even a helicopter tour of the island. But the very best time of all was spent at our VRBO, sitting in a hot tub under the palm trees and the stars.

One night after dinner, Jeremy began a game of “Good Questions.” (I literally just named it that this second). When I say we played a game, I mean Jeremy did what he does: He set some rules and the entire family agreed to play along. Here’s how you play: One person starts by asking a question to any other person in the circle. That person answers and then in turn can ask a question of anyone else in the circle. When I describe it like that, it basically sounds like a grown-up version of Truth or Dare, except without the dare.

Anyway, it was during this conversation that I heard some of the most astonishingly thoughtful questions ever:

  • To Marissa (a high school charter school teacher in Brooklyn, NY): Who is your favorite student and why?
  • To Noah (Emily’s boyfriend): How do people misunderstand you?
    • (At this point Jake announced, “This one needs to be an all-play.” We learned so much about each other!
  • To me and Jeremy: What is it like to go from empty nest to a reunion like this?
  • To Emily: Go around the circle and answer: What’s your favorite thing about each person?
    • This question became another “all-play” with everyone having the opportunity to “pile on” more good things about each person in turn.

Y’all, we talked for over 4 hours that night. I will never, ever forget the joy of hearing my grown children sharing joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, doubts and victories with each other. And hearing each person thoughtfully build one another up with sincere words of affirmation.

I guess the point of the game is this: there’s always more we can learn and appreciate about one another. And a great way to accomplish that is simply by asking a thoughtful question.

This Sunday, at New Covenant Bible Church, we begin a series that may likely stir up some questions of your own. The series is on the Holy Spirit. I don’t care how long you’ve been walking with God, I bet you have some good questions about His Spirit. Me too.

I hope you will take time these next few weeks to ponder those questions and ask those questions. Ask your small group. Ask a pastor. And of course, ask the Spirit Himself to help you understand. He wants to reveal Himself to you. Do you believe that?

There’s always more we can learn and appreciate about our awesome God. And a great way to accomplish that is simply by asking a thoughtful question.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

A gift for you.

March 31, 2022 /

Have you ever had someone refuse your gift?

It’s a strange feeling. It’s so inexplicable and baffling one doesn’t know what to do. 

On two different occasions, my husband and I gave extravagant gifts, only to have them unappreciated and rejected.  Our emotions bounced between anger, hurt, and confusion. Why would anyone turn down something of great value? It doesn’t make sense.

A generous gift means more than the thing in the box or the envelope. A gift is personal. A gift means you present part of yourself to someone else. It’s valuable..

Imagine, someone has just given you an envelope with $50,000 cash in it. Do you go home, open your messiest closet, and stash it somewhere randomly in the piles of stuff, hoping to not have to think about it ever again? Or even worse, on your drive home, do you roll down the window, open the envelope, and just let the bills flutter away?

Would you ever do that?

What if I told you I’m afraid we’ve all done just that.

The unappreciated gift?

The Holy Spirit.

We should understand as Christians that once we have trusted Jesus as our Lord that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  But what do we do with that gift?  What do we do with Him?  I am afraid more often than not we tuck Him away somewhere forgettable and go on with our lives.

Because what do we really need Him for?  After all, we can have a nice house, a great career, a lovely wedding, and two cars in our three-car-garage without the Holy Spirit. We can even squeak by with a decent marriage and good kids without the Holy Spirit. And we can serve in pretty much any capacity at church without the Holy Spirit.

So what do we need Him for? 

Well we find out how bad we need Him when our lives crack or crumble. Once our own strength fails to hold together our tidy little lives. We find out, often too late, that we needed His strength in our marriages, our parenting, our careers, our private lives.  We needed Him in order to be able to forgive our spouse–again. We needed Him to give us patience instead of angry outbursts with our kids–again. We needed Him to give us integrity instead of cooking the books at work–again. We needed Him to make us turn our phone off instead of watching filth–again. 

All those “again” moments. All those spiritual failures. All that powerlessness that ultimately defines our lives. Ruins our lives.

We need Him in order to stop the things we’re too weak to stop. 
We need Him in order to do the things we’re too weak to do.

And that’s just the beginning. 

He is also a gift of incredible power. Is your life characterized by supernatural comfort, counsel, guidance, deliverance, insight, revelation, and wisdom?

The Holy Spirit also is a source of unbelievable spiritual gifts meant to advance the gospel. 

He also gives you spiritual fruit in your life. Is your life characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control?  If not, maybe you’ve tucked Him away somewhere forgettable.

If you are in Christ, you have been given the greatest gift in the universe. The third person of the Trinity, fully God, at home in you.  Don’t you wonder what He’s capable of doing in, through and for you?

I hope you will choose to take another look at this incredible gift. If you want to know more, please take the following steps:

  1. Pray every day to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
  2. Search your scriptures to get to know the Spirit better. John 14-16, Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 12 are a good place to start.
  3. Find a good book to help you get to know the person of the Holy Spirit.  I would recommend Forgotten God by Francis Chan.

““Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Radical Power

March 25, 2022 /

Power.

What comes to mind when you hear the word power?  Danger? Suspicion? Potential? Influence? 

Controlled power gives light to our homes and movement to our vehicles. It builds bridges and schools. It brings unity to governments and basketball teams. And it overcomes evil in our world.

Out of control power, on the other hand, is dangerous and suspicious. We see the corruption of this all around us–nowhere so clearly at the moment as the absolutely senseless destruction of a peaceful country by a man full of uncontrolled power.

We adopted two boys from Ukraine 6 years ago. In the process we made many friends, all of whom have fled for their lives. Some to basements with bombs dropping overhead, some to villages farther to the west, and some as far as America. 

These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, praying that God will use the war to advance the gospel among their people.

Power out of control is killing their country, but not their hope.

That’s why, from now until Easter, NCBC Kids is using our offering money to support help for Ukraine.  There are many good ways to do this, but we have chosen to help Samaritan’s Purse who is actively on the ground building mobile hospital units to treat the wounded and ill.  

I have been absolutely amazed at the generosity which your children show week after week as they bring their gifts to God. They are not just doing small things in Jesus’ name. They are sacrificing, prioritizing and combining their efforts to do great things. 

What makes a person give to help a stranger? What makes a person volunteer in their free time, use their skills or influence to mentor others, or give their hard-earned money to a cause in which they believe?

Goodness. Human kindness, yes.

But what makes a man who once spent every minute and every dollar only on himself turn and become generous? What makes a woman who used to be condescending and conceited turn and serve the displaced and disenfranchised in the community? What makes  teenagers who used to only fear what others thought of them become brave and stand up for their faith or their fellow student at the risk of their own social standing?

That kind of radical change of heart would take radical power.

Ephesians 4 gives us a before and after look at the radical change in a believer’s life caused by the radical power of the Spirit:  If you used to be sensual, impure and greedy, now you ought to be new, righteous, and holy.  If you used to be a liar, now you must speak truthfully. If you used to be an angry person, now you are characterized by quick reconciliation. If you used to steal, now you are a hard worker. If you used to run your mouth with gossip and foul language, now you carefully choose words that build up and benefit others.

Surely something in that list rings true?  Hits home? Stings a bit?

Radical life change is possible for all who are in Christ. It is brought through the radical power of the Spirit, at work in our spirits, making us completely new.  Are we experiencing that kind of transformation?  If not, the scripture says we are grieving the Holy Spirit of God.  

There are many sources of uncontrolled power at work in our world which are destructive and frightening.  But the unmatched power of the work of the Spirit is something we ought to crave, pray for and surrender to. He wants to make us better, one day at a time. Will we let Him?

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20).

Grateful for you all,

Who do you love?

March 10, 2022 /

Can I risk the embarrassment of confessing some childhood TV crushes?

The first crush I can remember was on Albert, the adopted son on Little House on the Prairie. Why did I like him? Easy. He was cuter than Willy and not as rotten.

From there I moved on pretty quickly to characters on Happy Days, Growing Pains, Magnum P.I., Wiseguy, Moonlighting, Cheers, and Wings. My reasons for crushing on these guys matured. They were cute, yes. But also smart, brave, funny, and had darling dimples. Yes it’s true. As I’ve looked back over the heartthrobs of my youth, they all seem to share that trait. 

And of course when I eventually met the love of my life he had all that and more: Godly character, patience, thoughtfulness, loyalty, and yes, great dimples.

When I was growing up, I had been learning to love the admirable traits of a bunch of different fictional characters, waiting and hoping to meet someone who embodied them in real life.

Who do you love? Or, actually, what traits do you love in a person?  

Seriously, think about it, maybe make a list.  

You have all these imperfect people in your life who still exemplify beautiful virtues galore. And they don’t all share the same ones. 

  • My dad was a hard worker, a great storyteller and he loved to laugh.
  • My mom is generous. She is delighted by her children. She cares for those who are suffering.
  • I have a child who is fiercely loyal and remarkably thoughtful. I have another whose heart breaks for the lost and broken. And another who is resilient and contented.

If we were to list all of the best traits in the best of people it would be a long list indeed.

And if we were to finally find one friend who embodied every single awe-inspiring, respectable, admirable, enjoyable, attractive quality on that list, we’d have

Jesus.

When the Bible says he lived a perfect life, it doesn’t just mean that he never fibbed or sassed his parents or lifted a fig from the market without paying. He obviously didn’t sin. But he is so much more than that. He is the perfect person. Everything you love about everyone you love–embodied in this one dear friend, Lord, and King, without failure, weakness or exception.

Here’s an excerpt from my Wednesday morning’s devotion:

“In all other beings we see some lack, in him there is all perfection. The best even of his favoured saints have had blots upon their garments and wrinkles upon their brows; he is nothing but loveliness. All earthly suns have their spots: the fair world itself hath its wilderness; we cannot love the whole of the most lovely thing; but Christ Jesus is gold without alloy–light without darkness–glory without cloud–“Yea, he is altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16). –Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, March 9th.

My friend Andrew, who also happens to be the Family Life Director here at New Covenant Bible Church has a saying that I love:

“Follow the sunbeam up to the sun.”

It means, when you enjoy something, trace it to its source and give thanks there. When you love someone, and all the lovely somethings about that someone, follow those virtues up to the Son, the embodiment of everything lovely. And give Him the thanks and love and worship He deserves.

In everything He has supremacy…”For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him” (Colossians 1:19).

With love,

In like a lion….

March 1, 2022 /

I’ve heard it said, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” I’m not so sure… 51 degrees and sunny is pretty mild for March 1. Hopefully it doesn’t work in the reverse this year and come in like a lamb and go out like a lion!

Lions and Lambs. Gotta love weather forecasts that still make you think of Jesus.

We sing the song:

“Our God is a lion, the lion of Judah…
Our God is a lamb, the lamb that was slain…” 

The Lion and the Lamb. Mooring, Brown and Johnson. 2018.

So great yet so gentle. So powerful yet so peaceful. So mighty yet so mild.

It’s so beautiful to know that God is a both/and God. You don’t have to pick one or the other. 

You need a mighty warrior, who defeats your greatest enemies: sin, death, and the devil? You got it. You need a patient, welcoming, forgiving friend who comes toward you in your deepest pain and brokenness and brings gentle healing? You got it.

And as followers of Jesus, we are supposed to become like Him.

Gentle Giants. Filled with Patience and Power. Strength and Softness. 

Not either/or. Both/and.

As I’ve seen the headlines out of Ukraine, the beloved motherland of our two adopted sons, my heart is breaking. But my heart is also inspired by stories of our friends and fellow believers. Exhibiting incredible toughness and tenderness. Brave and benevolent. Looking and acting like Jesus. Lion and Lamb.

Let’s be this way in our homes. There’s times we have to be tough as parents and partners. When it will take incredible courage, endurance and strength to pursue the hearts of our kids. To forgive and reconcile in our marriages. Times we need backbone and possibly a little bite to our discipline or boundaries or expectations or communication.  

But even even if sometimes you need to come in like a lion, remember to go out like a lamb. Humble. Gentle. Keeping in mind that a soft answer turns away wrath (Proverbs 15:1). Remembering that even in his justice, God prefers mercy. Remembering that self-sacrificing LOVE is the greatest commandment of all.

Let the warm sunshine on your face this month remind you to be like Jesus. Lion and Lamb.

“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Warmly,

Movie Date Night

February 15, 2022 /

Okay couples: What movie spurred the most vibrant relational conversation for you and your partner (and not about special effects or superpowers)?

Jeremy and I have had a few over the years. (Notably: When a Man Loves a Woman. The Story of Us, Crazy Stupid Love, Dan in Real Life).

Then we watched an entire trilogy on Valentine’s Day (hey don’t judge).

  • Before Sunrise.
  • Before Sunset.
  • Before Midnight.

WARNING: These are not family-friendly films, so don’t sit down and watch with your kids.

Each movie is about one day in a couple’s life (each movie is set 9 years apart) and asks the viewers to consider:

What gives life meaning? What is love? How does your view of death shape your view of life? Should we be afraid of love? Does love last? Is it worth fighting for? How do you unfairly project core fears and hurts onto your partner? Do you think it matters how you speak to each other? What does forgiveness look like in your relationship? Are you more committed to your kids or your partner?

And more.

To call these movies “entertaining” is the wrong label. But we found a ton to talk about after each movie. If you are looking for a date night twist, give ’em a try and let me know what you think.

If you’re going to be mad at me for recommending a movie that throws the F-bomb around with regularity, talks frankly about sex, and has some nudity in the third movie, then please move on, nothing to see here….

How about you? Have you watched anything together that caused you and your partner to have deep or meaningful conversation afterward? Leave your recommendation in the comments!

Tune-up

January 31, 2022 /

One thing I’ve started to take more seriously as I’ve gotten older and wiser is maintenance. Car maintenance, home maintenance, health maintenance. When you’re young you feel invincible. But eventually you begin hearing stories of the bad things that happen to people who don’t take good care of their things. 

I’ve been hearing stories of bad things happening to people this year. And many of them center around relationships, especially marriages: facing apathy, trouble, crisis, or all-out destruction. Who do you know who is facing that pain?

It’s heartbreaking. And I know that sometimes the damage is one-sided and couldn’t be predicted or prevented.

But sometimes, the damage is caused by long seasons of neglect. Both people taking each other for granted. Sometimes people simply stopped doing the good and life-giving things together. 

And from my perspective, the most life-giving thing you can do in a relationship, especially a marriage, is experience God together: Long, rich conversations about spiritual things. Sharing memories of God’s faithfulness. Celebrating God’s generosity. Meditating on God’s promises. Praying together. Worshipping Jesus. 

Maybe you’ve never ever done these things with your spouse. I know most people have not seen this modeled well and many people don’t know where to begin. But what if this was the single most important maintenance you could ever do? What if this is the best way to protect your marriage from sliding from apathy to trouble to crisis to destruction?

What would that be worth to you? 

I want to offer a first step. AbideCR. Invest in the tickets, invest in the babysitter, and invest in your marriage by taking time away to experience the goodness of God in a new and powerful way. The Lord is a healer. He is a redeemer. He brings forgiveness and hope and joy. Resting with Him will bind your hearts closer together. 

This isn’t a marriage conference. It’s not a Bible conference. It’s more like a retreat. New Covenant will be transformed into a beautiful environment to enjoy Jesus like never before.

Great music. Great food (Feedwell, The Hip-Stir, Crumbl Cookies). Great preachers. Great people. Places to gather in a large group and spaces to escape and share a few quiet moments. Bring a friend and spread the word. All the info is available at the AbideCR website.

If your marriage, or simply your own precious soul, could use a tune-up, please turn to our good and gentle shepherd. He wants so much for you to feel his care.

Hope to see you there,

Oh no.

January 20, 2022 /

Oh no.

Two teeny tiny words that can convey a significant inconvenience or an entire world of grief.

Maybe it’s relatively minor like your furnace stopped working or your wife got in a fender bender on the way to work or your child needs braces. Expensive predicaments for sure, but not desperate.

But maybe you’ve received news that stops you in your tracks. A sudden death. A natural disaster. A criminal allegation. An unexpected diagnosis. A shocking infidelity.

News so bad it feels like it may be the death of you. Something so terrible you wake up each morning hoping it was a nightmare.

It may be devastation brought on by someone’s sin. Or it may be devastation brought on by no one’s fault at all.  But you’re devastated, nonetheless.

This is real life. Maybe it’s the real life of a friend of a friend. Maybe it’s the real life of your neighbor or co-worker or sister or small group friend. This kind of devastation is happening all around you right now. Or maybe it’s happening to you right now. Actual devastation and personal carnage—today.

Is there any hope? Is there anything we can say or do to help? Is there anywhere we can turn or any way we can make it better?

In the horrible face of that kind of darkness, I hesitate to give the Sunday School answer: Jesus.  It seems trite.

I call on each of us, if there’s a friend in crisis, a friend in agony, a friend in deep, deep need:

Be their friend.

Be loyal. Gracious. Patient. Present.  Sit with them at the hospital. Listen to them late into the night. Hug them as they cry. Hold their hand in the courthouse or the funeral home. And commit to persist for the long haul. Be their friend.

But I also call on each of us, trite as it may seem, to be wise and brave enough to whisper the only true answer to their questions. The only true balm to their wounds. The only true hope for their despair.

Jesus.

Because this life, as good as it can be, does not last. It will end. Either the illusion will be shattered with some god-awful news or the sands of time will simply run out.

Unless… Jesus.

God saw our sad predicament. He saw the depth of our excruciating sorrows and pains and endless anguish and he said,

“Oh no.”

Oh no to sin. No to betrayal and addiction and abuse. No to war and murder and cruelty. No to pain and disease. No to fear and suffering. Oh no to death and its forever goodbye.

Everyone’s life is inevitably sad, tragic and temporary. Unless… Jesus.  He clears away every evil and hurtful thing and makes a way for you to have a new and living hope.

When today is dark, there’s promise of a new day. When we receive bad news, Jesus preaches good. When we face death, we see beyond to new, perfect, painless, beautiful, eternal life. This moment may feel unbearable, but one day, as the 15th century mystic Julian of Norwich wrote:

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

That’s why Jesus isn’t a trite answer even in the absolute darkest hour.  He promises ultimate deliverance from every trouble and affliction. May you bring His peace to those living through their worst nightmares. And may you call on His name when bad news comes for you.

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:17-19).

Hopefully,

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