About The Book

Notes from the Margins is a book exploring the counseling sessions (if you will) between me and God during 5 years of loss and grief. Below is an excerpt from the introduction to give you an idea of the goal of the book. I am looking for other stories of healing from grief, so please feel free to share them below. I’ll be publishing the book late spring/early summer so keep an eye out for it!

Here is a snippit

• Parents stand over a baby in the intensive care unit praying his fragile life be spared…Does God hear?
• A woman lies in bed, the weight of emotion bearing down on her so strongly that the thought of putting feet to the floor is too overwhelming…Does God see?
• Someone is tossing and turning at night; she is desperately trying to make sense of this trial life has dealt her; she seeks understanding in light of what she knows about God’s character but the answer doesn’t come…Does God care?

These are hard situations; hard questions. Questions we’ve all asked at one time or another. Maybe they’re the same questions you are asking right now. There aren’t easy answers either, but there is comfort from God in times like these. Through ten years of trials and devastating loss and after many conversations with God, I’ve learned to trust that He never changes; He’s the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is there in the midst of our pain, waiting for us to call to Him. He longs to be our Rescuer; He desires to guide us through the pain. He wants us to find Him and has given us the best roadmap to His heart; the Bible.

The words in the Bible are the words that heal, comfort, direct and forewarn those who have loved God since the beginning of time. Those very same words can do the same for you and me when we choose to turn to God in our times of suffering. His living word, as applicable today as it was centuries ago, is one of the reasons my Bible is so precious to me. Here is another: The pages of my Bible are tear-stained, wrinkled and worn. I don’t want a new one. This one has been with me through a heart-wrenching journey of growth. The notes in the margins of this dear Book of mine mark my journey through the pain of life. They record when my heart and soul were quickened by His word—the times when God whispered words just for me. They mark the times God comforted, encouraged or warned me. Sometimes the notes are admonition to get my eyes back on God. They all mark God’s messages to me as He molds me into the image of Christ.

This book is a chronicle of those messages from God in a time of my greatest need—when it was just God and me walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Oh, there were so many times I just wanted to lie down and let the rain cover me up. There were times when I couldn’t take another step because I was so tired of fighting. There were times when it was a miracle that I actually took a step. These are the times when, as a dear pastor friend of mine put it, I wanted to “pitch my tent and stay right in that valley.” I didn’t want to go any further; I just wanted to stop. Stop hurting. Stop living. Even stop trusting in God.

But that’s not what God wanted. He doesn’t want any of us to stay in the darkness of the valley, no matter the circumstance causing it. He longs to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18). He chases away the darkness with His light (John 8:12). He desires for us to know Him and trust Him (John 10:38). Words like these kept me moving forward despite the agony. God’s words healed my spirit, kept me on track and comforted my broken heart. His word clearly says that He came so we might have abundant life in Him (John 10:10). He does warn us of trouble but promises that He will provide refuge (Psalm 9:9). He wants us to have joy. He doesn’t want us to reside in the darkness, lest we become adjusted to it. He doesn’t want us to stay in the desert, lest we get used to it. He wants us to live in Him and look forward to eternal life with Him.

Let’s move together through the valley of grief starting today. You just might see that there is a mountain top around the corner!