Jesus is Better

I decided today that it was probably time to start writing some things out…more than just status updates, more than thank you's, more than just statements that skim the surface…

But here I sat, just staring at the keyboard…struggling to really go to that place.

This is a picture of our ceiling, right above our kitchen sink, and right below where the grease exploded.  The gray streaks covered most of the ceiling and wall in our kitchen area.  

The past 13 days have been a whirlwind to say the least.  From Haiti, on the night of May 4th, to now sitting in a hospital room on May 17th, are really no feeling too much worse for the wear.  Hear me now, inside there…inside the places of my heart that still just can't even wrap my head around what has happened…the places where I can't comprehend the generosity that we have been shown…the places where God is whispering and holding and securing…those places are RAW.  They are like a tilled up garden that has been dug through and sifted thorough and watered and warmed by the sun, that now sits ready for the planting, and healing, and growth.  And they are places, that I just need to sit with a little longer.  I am looking in the windows, and sometimes sitting on the ground outside the door, considering entering into…but places I am just not quite ready to go.

The day we were told that Rob would need surgery (Tuesday, May 13), something changed.  The hope of a quick healing and being back in Haiti in a short amount of time started to slip away, and the reality of a slower, patience and grace-required healing process began to move in its place.  We cried together that day.  "I just need to grieve this right now," were Rob's words…

And that is what we did together.  We cried.  We cried over what we thought our plan was, and now wasn't, and we cried over the uncertainty of the future away from a place we value and love.  Our time in Haiti is already on a countdown.  Because of my clinical next spring, we know that our days are numbered…and these are not days that we thought we would lose.

But we hope in something more, and while it is a battle and a daily choice right now to cling to that hope…we hold tight and we trust, because we know that Jesus is better!

You guys, it isn't just a phrase or a song.  That is what I am writing about today and that is what I want our hearts to declare to loudly and confidently and clearly to those reading this.
There is no other so sure and steady, my hope is held in your hand
When castles crumble and breath is fleeting, upon this rock I will stand
Upon this rock I will stand
No way, no how would either Rob or I feel the way we do after this whirlwind without the protection and promise of Jesus.  He holds our hope, He is our strength and He is the only thing navigating this storm.

When we don't have words, we just whisper to each other, "Jesus is better."  When we sit in silence for a little while, we break it with, "Jesus is better."  When we don't have words to explain and act or a text that has come our way and are humbled on our faces, we say, "Jesus is better."
In all my sorrows, Jesus is better - make my heart believe
In all my victories, Jesus is better - make my heart believe
Than any comfort, Jesus is better - make my heart believe
More than all riches, Jesus is better - make my heart believe
Our souls declaring, Jesus is better - make my heart believe
Our song eternal, Jesus is better - make my heart believe

We love that you are praying and supporting…we have drawn from the strength that comes in being covered and surrounded by that "great cloud of witnesses"!  But we want you to know that Jesus just isn't better for us, but he is better for you too!  It doesn't have to be a burn, or a life changing accident…it doesn't even have to be something challenging, but could be something that you are rejoining in…

TOGETHER, we want to walk in belief!  We want our hearts to declare, with all of the masses and from every mountain that Jesus is better!  Walking this journey in community-community in Haiti, Iowa, and more states and locations than we are even able to count or keep track of-has led our hearts to believe more than we ever thought possible.

We know, without a doubt, that God is SOVEREIGN, and GOOD, and FAITHFUL…and at the end of the day we TRUST without wavering that His ways are higher than ours, that He WILL work all things for GOOD and that HE is on the THRONE and in control and that we are not.  So we walk, one step at a time…and we remember to breathe, one breath at a time…and we trust, from one day to the next…and we believe that this is the road to healing that is going to get us where we need to go.  Praying that we can remain patient and faithful to stay this course and endure the planting and the growth that we know and trust God has for ALL of us during this time.

JESUS IS BETTER!