It's a gray day.

A friend of ours said it was a day like many they experienced in the state of Washington. I reminded her that even if it was, you were still surrounded by those awesome mountains.

She pointed out that you had to know they were there, because when it was like this, you couldn't see them.

I know, but it doesn't mean they aren't there.

Today, a friend in the ministry is experiencing a crisis of faith as he and his family try to remain strong in the midst of a firestorm of sinful behavior on the part of some in his church.

Today, one young girl we've been praying for awaits a transplant to deal with her leukemia, and another (our niece) who just turned 10, tries to live with cancer and chemotherapy which has robbed her of energy, and caused the loss of her hair.

Today someone else is dealing with a multitude of trials, none of which were their fault.

It's a gray day.

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, it was a day like this one. Not too far into the New Year. Georgia in winter. Cold, wet, gray. She never saw another summer. Toward the end, we moved her into what used to be the basement rec room and tried our best to make it a warm and comfy place. We would come over and hang out, watch TV with her, talk to her, play her music. We even planted her favorite flowers outside the windows so she'd be able to see them.

We'd also come down and read to her toward the end, when she was too weak to even do the crossword puzzle she had always devoured. One day she asked me to read her Bible to her. So I started reading. I read beginning with John, then Acts and Romans. At times the pages of her bible seemed to be dotted with something. Not anything that ruined the print, but there were noticeable spots where the paper looked different. No where more so than the eighth chapter of Romans.

When I got there I mentioned to her that it looked like something had been spilled on them. She looked at me and said "No, nothing was spilled there." Then she teared up.

I learned that day that when she was diagnosed, she spent days asking God "why? Why me? Why now?"

She read her Bible as she always had for help and inspiration. And that day I learned that nothing had helped her more than Romans Chapter 8.

38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV

It was there she found her help, through her tears.

For those who are having a gray day, I hold out this hope - that you might see God's strength as the clouds clear, like a mountain towering over all your worries, fears, and trials.

Just because we can't see Him at work, doesn't mean He's not so very close. Nothing can separate us from His love.

Grace and peace,

David