- photo by Susan PageSometimes, the unexpected punch in the gut comes from those closest to us. This is my reality, and it is next to impossible to navigate these circumstances without the miraculous intervention of the Lord who is my portion.

We’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving here in Canada. This marked the second anniversary of my younger sister’s passing. That is a story for another time, but I will share that my sister was out of a relationship with my family at the time of her death. This made her death much harder to process. Many endings of close relationships either through death or other circumstances have happened on key holiday dates. These dates are meant for celebration, yet for me, each one has an undercurrent of sadness based on an ending.

Even though I enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend, as night drew near, a wave of sadness and heartache flooded my soul. I chose to turn to my Lord. What happened next blew me away. As I grieved a recent “punch in the gut” incident the Lord provided assurance and comfort through a Scripture passage that has come to mean so much to me. It was the theme of two separate readings.

“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness, and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:19-26).

We must find our deepest satisfaction in Jesus. He is our portion, and He is more than enough! The battles can be a steady onslaught, but every morning brings new mercies. God is ever faithful; of this, I have no doubt. God is working, even when we do not see or feel it.

We live in a fallen broken world and so relationships get shattered. Life seems too short so we long for broken relationships to be restored and made new. All things are redeemable, but the hardest lesson I have had to swallow is I cannot control other people's ideas, thoughts, perceptions, or choices. I can only ask for more of God’s grace to work its way in and through my life.

God’s love never ceases, and I want to emulate that, even when I have been mistreated. God’s grace meets me in whatever circumstance I face, especially in the darkest places. I am never alone in my feelings of abandonment, hurt, loss or betrayal. Jesus faced all these emotions and much more. He understands.

“You kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? …This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56: 8-11)

Jesus Himself wept, He was a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief. He is a compassionate, caring, and understanding friend.

Just this very morning the verse for today was: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Another beautiful and timely reminder to recall to mind.

All the promises of Scripture will hold us fast. God is our portion, and He is all we need.Susan Page is the daughter of the King, His beloved child, wonderfully forgiven and blessed! Susan longs to age gracefully, becoming more like Jesus as she seeks the hidden treasures revealed to her through Scripture, literature, the arts, humankind, and nature.