I found a new verse to claim for this year. It's Isaiah 45:2-3 ~ I will go before you and will level the mountains I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. As I have walked through these past few months, they have been very dark. But I'm learning that God still offers us great treasures in the darkness. I have found that maybe those are the best treasures, they're great riches stored in secret places. I've been praying that I won't miss what God is teaching me in the darkness. I never thought that God would use such great pain in my life to help me see his amazing riches, using my Dad's death and the terminal illnesses of my grand babies. It seems He's taking some of my most treasured possessions. But I know he gives back in riches stored in secret places and treasures in the darkness. That's an amazing promise.

I go back to Psalm 91 so often, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Thankfully as the weeks have passed, I find this verse more and more a companion to my heart. This was one of my Dad's favorite passages. What a perfect picture of restfulness. I miss my Dad!

Stef borrowed to me a book "The God of all Comfort" ~ In Psalm 42 the Psalmist says "in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers have swept over me. But now I see evidence of "deep calling to deep". Maybe that's a picture of the deep voice of the Almighty reaching deep into our anguished souls. So no matter the intensity of our pain, instead of backing away from God move toward Him.