Because He Came...Some Pieces of Us

Yep...I'm recycling again. I wrote this post around Christmas time, but since then we've had many new visitors...so hopefully it isn't one you've already read. This post sums up many of the pieces of our journey, so far. And, as our fifteen year anniversary approaches, I stand in awe of the miracles God has worked in our lives to make beauty from our ashes. He has carried us through with His daily sufficient grace...giving us a love that not only just survived the storms, but has grown deeper and sweeter with the passing of time. We were just eighteen years old when we danced to "Sparrows in a Hurricane" at our little wedding reception in a family member's basement. Oh...the memories...Enjoy this week's walk...




In a quiet church, almost fifteen years ago, two young kids made a promise to love, honor, and obey. Like two sparrows in a hurricane, they held hands, shaking under the weight of the promise and unaware of what would be required of them.
And He Came...

Weeping on the floor of their one bedroom apartment...overwhelmed with the loneliness of a little girl lost and the consuming responsibility of being a wife and mother, she cried out to Him.
And He came...

On the first silent snowfall, on a cold November day, they held each other and wondered how they were supposed to say good-bye. Forever changed, robbed of the invincibility of youth, robbed of a lifetime of dreams and moments, and all the blessings two little girls would bring.
And He came...

They stood in the hallway of the hospital as her tears fell in unison with the raindrops trickling down the window pane. How could this be? How can they walk this journey once more knowing it will end not with the joyous sound of a newborn cry but with the heart wrenching emptiness of another good-bye? Presented with a hopeless outcome, an impossible choice, and the mocking question..."Where is your God now?" They drove home in the storm.
And He came...

She prayed and searched day and night for the answers, the evidence that He hadn't turned His back on His two sparrows, leaving them to the merciless destruction of the hurricane. She wept from the unspeakable depths of a mother's heart. Fumbling around in the darkness, she searched for Him. Every step was taken blindly, surrounded by fog so thick, she couldn't tell if her next step would be the one to send her over the edge of the cliff. Would He catch them if they fell?
And He came...

Another silent birth on a warm day in July, they met their fourth child...their second son. They said hello and good-bye.
And He came...

Storms of rage and regret, disappointment and grief, rolled in as the clouds of darkness and doubt, bitterness and pain surrounded them. When the winds of the hurricane threatened fierce and certain destruction, one sparrow flew away and the other remained with broken wings to face the storm.
And He came...

Baby number five...For a moment there was silence, and her heart sank. And then...there it was...life's most precious, miraculous, beautiful sound...the cry of new life...the cry of their baby. They held him and cried in complete awe and gratefulness for the gift of this life.
And He came...

She watched helplessly as her mother painfully and slowly slipped away. As she reassured with promises from His word, they repeated together...He will carry me, He will carry me...and in the depths of her heart, she wondered where He was, and if He would really come.
And He came...

Because He came...
The two sparrows were not alone when they made their commitment to love and cherish each other for all of their days.

Because He came...
She stood up from the floor of their one bedroom apartment, He lifted her head and wiped her tears and gave her courage to begin a new journey.

Because He came...
There was peace in the silent snowfall, beauty in the brokenness, and the hope of the most amazing reunion filled with the unending joys of two little girls who have never known pain, sorrow, regret, sickness, or tears.

Because He came...
There is an answer to the question, "Where is your God now?" There is complete confidence in the sufficient grace of our loving Savior, comfort in the arms of the Comforter, hope in the promise that we will never be forsaken. That His arms are always faithful to carry us. There was strength for the journey. When darkness should have smothered her, joy overcame her at the meeting of her boy...the boy she would only hold for a little while, and yet carry for a lifetime. She felt Him brush past her, and it was almost as if she could just reach out and touch the hem of His garment. Never did she feel His closeness so much, as when He whispered past her to take her sweet boy home. She sang songs of peace and praise as he left her arms. And because He came, one more precious little one will join the forever reunion, with their forever family, in their forever home.


Because He came...
The sparrow flew home, and the other sparrow's broken wings were mended. They learned to hold on tight, so that when the hurricane winds blow, they will not be separated...but held together...closer still.

Because He came...
He carried her mother home just like He said He would, and He carries His sparrows still today...through storms and sunshine, laughter and tears.

More than two thousand years ago, the world ached for salvation, swelled with yearning for deliverance, redemption, restoration...for a Savior to rescue from sin and death. And He came...a baby King, born in a lowly stable on a quiet night to a peasant girl and her betrothed...a carpenter. He was in the still, small voice when He whispered past Elijah. And He was in the quiet stable birth when He came to rescue us and sent His angels to tell the lowly shepherds the good news.

His name is Jesus...and He came for me.

His name is Jesus...and He came for you.

And Because He came...there is hope for tomorrow and a promise of a joyful, forever reunion. He will wipe away all of the tears and wash away the loss and regret. He will cleanse and forgive and clothe us in robes of white. The empty arms will be filled. The hungry hearts will be fed. Brokenness will be restored. Mourning will be turned to dancing. And sin and death will be no more.

Because He came...He will carry us through this life.

And because He came...He will come again...in all His glory...to take us home.

© Kelly Gerken, Sufficient Grace Ministries 2008-2009