Please welcome my dear friend Missy to the blog. She graciously agreed to share some of her story with us, and I know you will be blessed. Missy writes from her heart and heartache. She’s been through a lot, but she’s still standing. The reason Missy stands is because her feet are on The Rock.
Missy and I go way back. Like all the way back to college. We met at our tiny Christian college in Southern California a few years ago. It’s more than a few years, but in my mind we are still eighteen years old. I can’t recall the exact moment we met, I just know we were instant friends. When our dorm rooms were next to each other with connecting patios, the doors were usually left open so we could go back and forth freely.
We went off to Florida for the summer with our amazing friend Wendy. We were camp counselors and it was all Missy’s idea. Turned out to be a great idea and a fantastic summer with lifelong memories. It was a priority to be at each others weddings, all three of us, in spite of living thousands of miles apart. It’s that type of friendship. The kind you cherish. The kind you get once in a lifetime.
Missy has a contagious faith and a contagious laugh too. If you spent a few minutes with her you’d love her instantly. So my heart was broken when I got the news that she lost her beloved son Justin. He was twenty; a few months shy of turning twenty-one. There are no words to comfort a friend when the pain is unimaginable. I continue to pray for her and watch in awe as she walks out her faith while grieving. She’s a true inspiration.
It is my honor to have Missy contribute to my little corner of the world. Give her some love and leave a comment.
Taste and See
by Missy Linkletter
It was Sunday evening on July 9, 2017; Justin asked me if we could sit down and talk, just the two of us.
Plain and simple, Justin wanted a motorcycle, and I was 100% against it. We’d been having a friendly but serious debate for several months on the matter. He’d gone as far as obtaining his motorcycle license, and as far as I knew, he was on the hunt for the perfect ride. Regardless of my opinion, he was 20 years old, and it was his decision.
We sat down together in our front living room, he took a deep breath and looking into my eyes, he said, “Mama, you know how you are worried about my well-being if I drive a motorcycle? Well, in the same way, I am worried about you and your health.”
My eyes immediately filled with tears as he continued. “I am willing to forgo buying a motorcycle if you are willing to get healthy. I will get up extra early and go to the gym with you, I will cheer you on…” I looked into his bright green eyes, now with tears streaming down my cheeks and choked out, “Yes, I agree!”.
I told him I was proud of him and thanked him for saying hard things to me, his mama. The next morning, I hit the ground running and embarked on a new healthy lifestyle.
Unbeknownst to me, it would be the last Sunday we’d have with Justin on this side of eternity. The following Saturday, only six days later, we lost our dear boy.
Today, as I write, it’s been 112 Sunday’s since that pivotal conversation. The aftershock of losing him still ripples through our family daily. At times, I have felt as though I were eating the dust of the ground, the ache runs deep.
Through it all, I am awestruck and filled to the brim by the tender care of the Lord. I have considered what life would be like for me today had He not prompted Justin to have such a conversation with me. I am reasonably sure I would have indulged in the immediate comfort which food once provided me. Today, I am learning to sit in the ache and wait for the Lord’s healing balm.
Lasting change does not happen overnight; old patterns and habits don’t simply disappear. For me, it’s one minute at a time, once choice at a time, and a constant reminder of the grace upon grace which God provides.
King David wrote, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8 I have tasted of His goodness in my deepest heartache. I have known no greater joy than being understood by the Lord my God. He is the perfect refuge for my broken heart.
Dear Christian, I don’t know what trial you are facing today, but I am confident of this, God is for you. He longs to be gracious toward you; therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. (Isaiah 30:18). He will not leave you alone in your trial; draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
Do not lose heart, dear one. Since God is for us, who can be against us?
Check out Missy’s blog.
https://missylinkletter.com/
Image by Felix Wolf from Pixabay
Meghan E White 