God’s Hand Up!

“Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 

(2 Cor. 12:9, NLT)

Thanksgiving 2025 for me was bittersweet, but still blessed. We were still mourning my daughter's passing, but we still saw God's goodness. Even though our family is not where we want to be, having want we want to have, and doing what we want to do; God’s grace is sufficient for us.

It’s particularly true for me because it was Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1996, that I was born again and received the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit after a long illness and losing everything I had. Preparing the meal for my family, I reflected on the abundance of God’s grace he poured out on me during that season.

When I couldn’t figure out how I was going to get up from that bed of affliction, he took me by the hand and walked me right out. I was diagnosed as disabled and placed on Social Security disability in the spring of 1995. Some years later, I was able to work part-time and even went to college part-time, but I officially came off disability on January 1, 2019. It had been 24 years that I had struggled to regain my independence. It was a new beginning, and a new chapter in my life’s journey from disability to ability. And I let God guide me one step at a time, though it was difficult.

It’s such a wonderful blessing, because my earlier medical report from 1995 stated, “She will never get better.” Reading it in 1995 insulted me, but it also made me even more determined not to give in to their perception of my ability or my life, even though I felt like I was dying.

I can’t boast about myself at all; my soul makes her boast in the Lord. This is because his grace is sufficient for me and his strength is indeed made perfect in my weakness. So, like the Apostle Paul, I too, "...will boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."

Because of that season, no matter what is going on with our family, I still have joy in my heart because of the personal relationship that I have with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Every Thanksgiving is a constant reminder of how much God truly loves me. When I cried out, “Save me!” He was right there telling me to, "Hold on!"

When the hospice nurse informed me that my daughter wouldn't make it through the night, I asked God not to let pass away on my spiritual birthday. I needed that day to belong to him and me. Her last day with us was Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024. She passed the next morning at a hospice center. I knew it wouldn't be good for her to pass away in our home. My grandson later told me, I had made a good call because he would not have been able to stay in the house if she had. They were minor children. It was November 29, 2024, when she went home to be with the Lord after battling cancer. I know it might have seemed selfish, but now I can celebrate my spiritual birthday on November 28, and on November 29, I can celebrate her spiritual home-going. She was a born-again Christian as well. 

Let me encourage you to boast about your weaknesses, too. Remembering, God takes those weaknesses and trades them in for his strength! “Hold on.” You will get up as long as you don’t give in! God still has a plan for you! Just ask him for what you need. 

Prayer:

Father, I am so grateful for your saving grace. Not just for eternal salvation, but also for daily salvation. When the troubles of this world try to overtake me, it is your saving grace that sustains me. I am daily grateful for your presence, which allows me to enjoy your daily presents in their various forms. Help me always to remember your goodness and your tender mercies, so I can always remember to give you praise daily. In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.