God has given such comfort this spring in the midst of both my own and my husband’s continued health issues. So even tho I’m still on a blogging hiatus, He asked me to step in for this quick sharing today. I pray for any who need the touch of His hand. May these words bring a blessing to you.
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Last month my brother went to Heaven after years of untreated heavy issues. He was the prodigal son in our family, but he was the brother who gifted me his unconditional love in spite of his dark struggles. He was the brother who bought my first clarinet in this post here. Yet his struggles were the gift that God used to teach me to pray throughout the more than fifty years of intercession.
Those years vanished in an instant when God opened the door for me and my husband, along with my brother’s son, to hear his hospital room confession of faith in his Saviour and Lord. My brother’s words of “I know I’m forgiven, I’m just waiting for Him to call me home,” filled my heart to overflowing.
It was only two weeks later, and he was gone. The joy of knowing He was with the Lord mingled with my sorrow of losing him here. As I glued the precious sympathy cards into my journal, I listened to the song that came up on my feed:
And the stiffness in my RA joints lifted long enough to write the thoughts God inspired through this song. My tears dropped like dew as the comfort of God’s eternity washed over my heart. May His comfort seep into your bones, even as His mercy lingered over every joint and marrow of my being:
The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 GNT
God’s living Word cut through all of the struggles in my brother’s life to bring forth the desire planted by God in his heart as a little boy. He had never left him alone.
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
As His Word stepped into my grieving, He showed me the beauty of His presence in the places where my soul felt left behind. I am never alone.
He will never leave you alone either. Is there a prayer lodged long and heavy in your heart? Our Father’s Word will not return empty, but will accomplish every purpose His love has planted.
Then He will carry us home.
I would love to close this post with a prayer-blessing that I shared a while ago at my dear friend Anna Smit’s site of Shalom Aleh. May the Lord be so close to you now:
I bless us to know today, our Saviour’s precious redeeming of every lost and broken place. May we feel His mercy pouring over each of our souls as the breaking only presses us closer to His heart. May we be so blessed to know our Lord has carried every weakness and lifted every sorrow, and awakened our hearts to His glorious love.
I bless us to fall into the gift of surrender as we lay each loved one before our Savior. May we find His overflowing might protecting us from every harm the enemy has tried to yoke upon us. May we be so blessed to find that in the laying down of our own strength, His glorious might would carry us more firmly than anything we might have accomplished on our own. And may He bless us to see His own sweet rejoicing gifted and growing where every surrender had lain.
I bless us to know the harvest that the great gardener of our souls is reaping even now. May we see His fullness in these places of hemming in. May we see His mercy in the coming and the going, both such gifts of His planting and harvesting. May He show us that each dying seed is now filled with His life ever flowing. And may He bless us to rest in His merciful pruning, as He sings His growing song over us. Amen
BettieGsRAseasons 
Inspiration Bettie..How are you doing?
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Thank you so much Athira! It’s so good to hear from you. How are you doing? I have good days and hard days. But God is so full of mercy to me. ♥️🤗
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I’m praying for God to cover you and your family with His peace and comfort. Sending love and hugs. There is no time limit on grief.
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Thank you dear Melissa. I appreciate your care and understanding. Hugs to you too! ♥️🤗
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Beautiful
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Thank you my dear friend. ♥️♥️♥️ I’m so grateful for all of your prayers.
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Thank you for this, this morning. I love your poem.
Have a great holiday .
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Thank you dear Mandy. I’m so glad that God allows us to pray for each other! I pray that you have a safe & pain-free holiday too. ❤️
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Bettie, this was beautiful! Your blessing poem is a soothing balm to me.
I am so sorry for the loss of your brother, but what a beautiful gift that he allowed himself to be captured by God’s love for him. And now, he rests peacefully in God’s arms.
I pray for you and Barry everyday. May the warmth of the Son bring healing and peace.
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Dear Colleen, your prayers and love mean so much to me! I’m truly grateful God brought you comfort here. Isn’t He so good to us, as He lets us share our hearts with each other? You remain in my prayers also, my dear sister. ♥️🤗🙏
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So many tears, Bettie. Even though you had shared this with me in advance, only Jesus knew how these words would be such a balm today, as I lift up my prayers and tears for another beloved prodigal, not long from her last breath on this earth.
Oh how it was such a gift praying with you for D. these past years and seeing the Lord move so mightily. He is so mighty to save and so mighty to carry us through the waves of grief, as we pray and lay our loved ones into His hands.
Love you so much. But you know that. Don’t reply: rest those hands and your whole body and know I am so very thankful to God for you and your whole family.
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Dear Anna, your praying and sharing and loving thru the Spirit helps the miles to drop away. Even tho an ocean separates us, God has joined our hearts of prayer in Him. And I am so very grateful. Love and hugs for you and your sweet family.
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Bettie, this a such a beautiful post from your heart! Your love and trust of our Savior and Lord are such an encouragement to me. Even in your pain you share your heart with us and give us a glimpse of Jesus. Thank you for your beautiful prayer. May we lay our burdens at His feet and trust Him with each member of our families. May God continue to comfort you in your grief. Much love and many blessings to you, dear sister! xoxo
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Dear Gayl, I am so very grateful that God joined our paths together during this season of our lives. He has truly blessed me thru your words and posts of encouragement too. Your prayers mean so very much. Love and hugs dear poet/sister/friend! ♥️
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This is so beautiful & tender, Bettie. How blessed your brother had you to prayerfully love him into heaven. I’m so sorry for your earthly loss though. May our LORD keep comforting you, sweet sister ~
With my love,
Melody ~
P.S. I’m going to share your beautiful prayer with a very hurting friend. 💓
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Dear Melody, thank you for your sweet encouragement. It really is a process walking thru this grief mingled with joy. May your friend feel the comfort of the Lord as you share with her. Blessings and love to you dear sister. ♥️
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Thank you for sharing obediently. I’m grateful to God for His mercy covering over your body so that you were able to write these words of comfort, praise and blessing. Much love to you and yours. I think of you often. And one day we will run and write together pain free.🌸
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Amen dear Lisa! Oh what a day that will be!! I think of you often too, and I’m so grateful for those times of study and prayer that God gave us to share. Truly He opens doors when we least expect it. Blessings and prayers for you today! ♥️
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So lovely! How precious to hear your brother confession of faith, and see how God’s mercy is always at work. Blessings to you and your family, Bettie, and may you continue to be comforted by God’s loving ways.
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Thank you so much dear Lynn. I deeply appreciate your prayers. And yes, it was truly a miracle to get to be with my brother as he spoke that aloud! Blessings and prayers for you too! ❤️
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Dear Bettie, this is such a deeply personal post which God has wonderfully graced you to write. It has tremendous universal application in the losses and grief, the call to surrender and yield, the need to cling hard to Jesus, and the wondrous gift that prayer is for us and those we love. Your 50 years of devoted intercession for D yielded amazing and timely fruit! That gives hope to all of us as we pray and long for change to come.
This post feels so tender and Holy-Spirit led. The lovely song you chose, your beautiful poem and blessing, all reduced me to tears. Your God-given words are laced with great compassion and understanding of the many challenges we might face. They also reveal hope of the answers that will come when we stand by God’s Word, pray, and live out our faith. Much love, hugs, and prayers as you continue to battle with health issues and grieve your beloved brother’s death. ❤️
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Dear Joy, your words of understanding and caring bring tears to my eyes also. It’s a wondrous gift when He allows us to share in each other’s grief and comfort, isn’t it? Knowing that you have so recently experienced something so similar lifts my spirit to cling to Jesus.
I appreciate your prayers for physical stamina thru these health battles too. It’s only His strength that carries us. And it’s only His grace that moves us to pause and rest with Him. Thank you for being a part of that grace in my life. Blessings and hugs and prayers for you dear sister across the pond. ❤️
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I’m so sorry to hear of the loss of your brother, Bettie. I’m glad you found peace with his final weeks on earth. Praying for you and your husband’s health issues. Living in our frail bodies can be such a challenge.
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Thank you so much for your kind support and prayers, Lisa. It really was a miracle to be able to meet my brother at the hospital. And you are so right–our bodies truly are so fragile. God gives us so much grace to keep going! Blessings to you dear friend!
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Sending you love & prayers dear Bettie as you grieve for your brother but rejoice in knowing He is with the Lord.
Thank you for this encouraging post as I continue to pray for my loved ones who are not walking with the Lord & for those who are yet to know Him as their Saviour.
Blessings, Jennifer
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Dear Jennifer thank you so much for your caring and loving prayers. And I’m so grateful you were encouraged here too. God’s grace is so overflowing for our loved ones! My brother’s returning renewed my hope for others that I’m praying for too. Oh may we keep our hearts fixed on Him. Blessings for you also dear friend!
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Dear, sweet friend, my heart breaks over your loss. And at the same time, I am so challenged and inspired by your faithfulness to persevere and intercede on behalf of your brother’s soul. I believe it is largely because of you and your refusal to give up on the call God gave you to intercede for him that he is in heaven today. Praise the dear Lord. May He hold you extra close and comfort you in each moment of grief, consoling you with reminders that you will one day meet again.
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Dear Cheryl, thank you so much for your sweet prayers and love. I appreciate you so very much. Those years of our intercession seem so long while we are waiting, don’t they? I know you understand. But oh what a mystery that He would ask us to join in with HIS own heart and purposes! Blessings love and prayers for you today dear sister.
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Amen, Bettie. This post brought me to tears. I’m so sorry for your family’s loss but so joyful for heaven’s gain at this time.
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Dear Lisa, thank you so much. I know your family has had its share of grief this year too. I’m grateful to know that we can encourage each other to keep looking up towards Heaven. ♥️
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