Cheri!

CHERI!

Journal Entry:

November 15, 2003

“Counseling today.  I realized I’m in the anger stage of grief.  I cried in front of Cheri and that was good.  We discovered many things and she gave me 2 Corinthians 10:5 to meditate on and study.  I’m so thankful for my time with her.  ‘This has been a good day!  I love You Lord!!’”

“I realized I’m in the anger stage of grief.”  Grief is necessary and important when we experience a loss of any kind.  Acknowledging the different stages helps one heal.  Denying that we are grieving can cause emotional, psychological, and even physical issues.  Please if some is grieving don’t ever tell them to ‘snap out of it’ or ‘get over it’.  Don’t try to tell them how they should feel or what they should do.  Listen to and love them and advise them to seek counseling from someone who is neutral, qualified, and loves the Lord. 

  “Counseling today.  I cried in front of Cheri and that was good.”  This is what I was talking about in the preceding paragraph.  I could say things and do things in front of Cheri that I didn’t feel comfortable expressing in front of other people.  She let me cry.  For so many years my tears were seen as a sign of weakness or as an annoyance.  She didn’t judge me and she wasn’t trying to ‘fix’ me.  She never told me what to do.  She listened, she asked questions to make me think for myself, and she led me to helpful resources.  Case in point:  “We discovered many things and she gave me 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 to meditate on and study.”   

I still recall this today when Satan tries to use my thoughts against me and it works.  He cannot stand and Christ replaces my negative thoughts with His words that edify and encourage me.  My Savior is amazing!

 I’m so thankful for my time with her.”  To this day I’m thankful for God bringing Cheri into my life.  She allowed God to use her to make a profound difference in my life.  It’s not a coincidence that God led me to the very church where she was interning for that one semester.  There is no such thing as a coincidence when the Lord is directing your steps. 

“‘This has been a good day!  I love You Lord!!’”  Even in the midst of my anger and sorrow God allowed me to see His hand and to have a good day.  My times with Cheri changed my life and are among the most special memories I have. 

One of the lessons I glean from this post today is the importance of being willing to be where God wants you to be doing what He leads you to do every day of your life.  Cheri had to be willing to go to seminary, to do her internship at Ninth & O Baptist Church, and to meet with and guide a broken woman on a regular basis.  I had to be willing to go to Ninth & O Baptist Church, to seek counsel, to open my heart to a stranger (at first, she soon became a friend), and to listen to her counsel.  Go where and when God leads.  Remember:

 

Father,

Thank You for the gift of Cheri’s presence in my life.

Thank You for guiding us to each other.

Thank You for going before, with, and behind us.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen