Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Temporary suffering= Eternal glory

I have been remembering four years ago this week when we were in Delaware getting Anna's second liver transplant.  Sometimes I still question our decision to proceed that day.  There was so much pain after that surgery.  So many days in the hospital.  For what?  Why did she have to suffer so much before she died?  It has been easier for me to accept her death than to accept her suffering.
But then I read what God's word has to say about our suffering...

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  (2 Corinthians 4:17)
When you are in the midst of suffering it seems anything but light and momentary.  One day in the hospital watching your loved one struggle for each breath seems like forever.  But it's not.  Our suffering is temporary--and compared to eternity--momentary.  Even if it lasts a lifetime, our present suffering will be far outweighed by our eternal glory.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  (Romans 8:18) 
Lord, help me stop focusing on Anna's earthly suffering and  fix my thoughts instead on her eternal glory.  Thank you that our suffering is not eternal, but our glory is. 
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5 comments:

  1. AlysonJuly 28, 2010 at 8:23 PM

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts and God's Words. Had you not done the second transplant I'm sure you would have then been left with the "what if we had done it then maybe she would have made it type thoughts so you can't go there... What a great reminder for us all no matter the situation we are going through. Lord help us not to fix "our thoughts" on the earthly but the eternal. "Our" thoughts can be terrible and instead we should turn from "our thoughts" to God's truths which bring peace and comfort.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 28, 2010 at 10:06 PM

    Amen. Thank you for that.
    Amy Smith

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  3. AnonymousJuly 28, 2010 at 10:06 PM

    Amen. Thank you for that.
    Amy Smith

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  4. LizJuly 28, 2010 at 10:11 PM

    Someone told me once to take a roll of toilet paper & hold it in the center of the roll w/ a pencil (something it can roll on) and have another person take the end of it & walk across the room....or across the house. Now look at the length you've pulled off & notice how longggggg it stretches. Realize that 1 square is your entire lifetime & that roll of toilet paper is like eternity. (and remember you didn't even unroll the whole thing!) When you look at your own issues & suffering & problems in that light, it makes it so much easier to comprehend eternity.

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  5. Roeh Family UpdateJuly 30, 2010 at 10:47 PM

    Love this post Marlo. So wise. So true. I wanted to share with you that a comment you made on my blog with a story about your Anna has been such an encouragment for me. About her fighting the whole time and how she never lost her fighting spirit and how it was a gift. It has made me see our Rebecca's "fight" in a whole new way. Thanks to you for sharing, and to Anna for fighting...and to God that she doesn't have to fight anymore.

    Hugs,
    Joy Roeh

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