Yes, Lord!  These words come so easily in times of joy. We celebrate the birth of a new child; yes, Lord – this is a preciousl moment.  We pause to gaze at a particularly beautiful sunset – once again, yes Lord, you have created such beauty.  It may be the return of a loved one who has been away far too long. As we embrace them, we can say yes, Lord, I’ve longed for this moment.

Not all the moments of our journey are filled with such bliss. We walk through the valleys. To borrow a phrase, we trudge through the sludge. We face sickness, pain, loss and grief. Hope seems to be lost. The words “Yes, Lord” may not come so easily.

I just read a little book called, “Yes Lord.” I found inspiration and encouragement in the author’s story and I’d like to share a bit of it with you.

“I am suspended between the hope of living and the hope of dying. Yet I must say it still again . . . Yes, Lord.”*   These are the words of Dona Hoffman in her deeply moving volume of letters, journal entries, and poems. This young woman has recorded the very personal story of her journey through cancer. She is walking through the valley of death, yet amid it all she courageously responds “Yes, Lord.”

The author was diagnosed with cancer when she was still a young mother. She would spend years fighting; fighting the disease, the pain, the loss of independence. She had an intense desire to live, but fear of the pain ahead. She was torn. She struggled. She suffered. Though the words did not come easily, she still could say “Yes, Lord.”

I don’t know what today will bring for you. I don’t know what it will bring to me. I do know that we find peace when we can honestly say “Yes, Lord” to the God who loves each of us unconditionally.

Judy

*Yes, Lord,” by Dona Hoffman, published by Stephen Ministries as part of the Care Classics Series, copyright 2003.