For February 21st:

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
    you who have done great things.
    Who is like you, God?
 Though you have made me see troubles,
    many and bitter,
    you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
    you will again bring me up.
You will increase my honor
    and comfort me once more.

Psalm 71:19-21

By the time I was 5, my mother could no longer walk.  Shortly after, she lost the ability to care for herself at all.  My mother had aggressive Multiple Sclerosis. Every part of my life was affected.  My mother required constant care, and it took all of us.  All through my childhood, I questioned God.  How could a God who loves us allow this to happen to any family?  In December of 2009, God gave me an answer.  I was sitting in the pulmonologists office, and the doctor said, “Your daughter has Cystic Fibrosis.”  In that moment, God spoke very clearly in my heart.  He had “made me see troubles, many and bitter” with my mother’s illness that had cultivated in me the heart of a servant. This prepared me to care for my own daughter now.  Instead of being filled with fear and sadness for my daughter and her future, I was filled with peace and comfort. If God loved me enough to prepare my heart for this moment, I have faith He has prepared me for whatever our future brings.  “Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. . . . You will increase my honor and comfort me once more.” Amen.

Jessica Griffis