Faithful and Good

Last Sunday in church, the praise team sang the somewhat new(ish) song Goodness of God. It wasn't the first time I had heard it, but it was the first time I really stopped to listen fully to the words. And once I started really listening, I became completely overwhelmed by their truth and aware of how I've seen that truth at work in our lives. 

All my life You have been faithful...

All my life You have been so, so good.

With every breath that I am able...

I will sing of the goodness of God.

Today is a pivotal day in my heart to share those lyrics with you and think about them in my own mind, because today is my nephew's birthday. I've written about him many times before, but if you're new here, you might not know that I became an aunt at the tender age of ten. (Perks of being a major last-born child.) Kirk was stillborn, so I also experienced my first up-close experience with death at the tender age of ten. And in ways my little inexperienced heart couldn't even discern on that day, God was right in the middle of being faithful and so, so good. 

And again, for those of you who have read here for a long time, you know some of the big-moment ways He kept right on being faithful and so, so good to me in the last 32 years since that Sunday morning in 1988. Through my teen years (ohhhh the angst), the loss of my friend Craig, my college years (ohhhhh the second round of angst), love lost, my single twenties (there aren't enough volumes in the world to hold that angst), my Financial Aid job, love lost again, my radio job, my relationship with Ryan, my stay-at home-years, losing Ryan's mom, a pandemic, and now our whole new life and career. 

But it hasn't just been about those big "marker" moments. It's been in every little moment of every little day. Every terrified interstate drive. Every achingly lonely night of those single years. Every moment I stood on a platform and shared a talk. Every twinge of joy that flooded my heart. Every word I wrote. Every meal I cooked. 

Always faithful. Always so, so good. 

We've been serving in our new role for two months now, and I've already pulled from some of those long-ago moments in my conversations with our tenants. I've reached back to remember how I felt and I've been able to share concrete ways that God was faithful and good to carry me in all the good, bad, hard, and fun. 

It really is a faith booster to look back and see specific ways He has worked. If you haven't done that for a while, give it a try today. You might just find a whole bunch of praise welling up inside you!

And as for me, I'm grateful for today, this 32nd birthday for my nephew. Every now and then when I think about him, I wonder who he would have become as he grew up. I wonder what his story would have been, had more pages been written on this earth. But because of him, my pages on this earth have meaning. Because of him, my faith grew and strengthened. Because of him, I have been able to see specific displays of the goodness of God.