Working with the public as I do at Ellis Piano, customers come in quite often and tell me all kinds of things about issues they are dealing with in their everyday lives. Some of them really pour out their hearts, telling me even the most private details of struggles they are having. Most of the time, they don't want me to say anything back or give them advice; they just want me to listen as they unload burdens they are carrying. Just getting it off their chest seems to be healing for them in some way.
Today, I was remembering one man in particular who came in to our store a few years ago and shared some incredibly difficult events that he and his family had been going through over the past year. He stands out in my mind because listening to his words that day actually healed ME!
He came in to buy music for his daughter, but soon afterward began telling me about all of the hardships he had been through. He had to quit his job because of his poor health. Not long after that, his home burned to the ground and they lost everything they owned in the fire. The previous year, his wife had developed breast cancer and was still battling that illness at the time.
As he was telling me about all of these extremely trying times in his life, I was amazed at what I saw on his face . . . not a look of despair or sadness as you would expect, but a glow and a smile! He didn't dwell long on how hard his life had been, but, instead, on how good God had been! He said every time a tragedy had happened, God had brought something really positive in to his life soon afterward. It was as if God was trying to make up for the pain he was experiencing . . . a way of saying, "I know you are having a rough time and I haven't forgotten about you."
This man really inspired me, and I thanked God when he left for sending him to our store that day to give me a lift. I wanted to share this with all of you in hopes that it will boost your spirits and give you new hope as it did me.
Yes, bad things happen in our lives, but God is good. He either shelters us from the storm or gives us strength to endure walking right through the middle of it. Which ever way it goes, God loves us and never forsakes us. Tragedies occur, but blessings are always on the way.
God, truly, is good!
