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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Another Valley From Which to Give Thanks…

December 9, 2010 by HappyGoStuckey 6 Comments

 A couple of weeks after we moved to Georgia, I found myself reflecting one day on trials or “valleys” and the goodness of our God. After almost 18 months of uncertainty about where and when the Lord would lead us, we were all of a sudden, where He LED us.

And then we went, and here we are.

As I reflected on all that God had done to provide for us a way to move, a place to live, a church to attend, my favorite grocery store nearby, not to mention a very good job for Lance– I was blessed beyond speech. So many times I sat down at my computer to share these joys with you and all I could do was Praise God and Thank Him for His timing.

Not many days went by before I found myself just the teeniest, tiniest bit homesick. Not for Wake Forest necessarily… though we DO miss it. But homesick for the trial. I found myself actually missing that feeling of knowing little else except that “God is GOOD and we trust Him.” Both of those things are just as true today as they were six months ago, but I know I’m not the only one who finds it less of a struggle to completely RELY on Him when we have so many unanswered questions then when things are a bit smoother. It is in those times that our relationship has the potential to grow so sweet as we are constantly and painfully aware of our helplessness.

I can honestly say that I PRAISE GOD for those many days of knowing very little of our future. I know that there will be a piece of those days in every day to come as we look to Him for our every need. Though it seems as though we were just in a period of unanswered questions, I thank Him that we find ourselves in another right now. I thank Him that there will undoubtedly be many more.. and that He will be faithful in every one.

As for today, I do not know why God chose to take our precious unborn child after only a handful of weeks of rejoicing that we would, again be parents. I don’t even know what to say but that it hurts my heart. But I will rest in the promise that He is good and we trust Him. My heart is filled with joy that this sweet Stuckey Baby will never know pain or suffering and that He or She has already seen our Lord face to face. And I cannot deny the fact that I am thankful for every little and big reminder that we are completely reliant on God for our every need. I am ever grateful for His grace. And I am even more thankful (if that’s was even possible) for my Lance and my Lucy. 

And for you… and your prayers.

And since you’ve patiently read through these many paragraphs, I shall reward you with a picture of our little family. 🙂

Just a few shots of Lucy’s antics…
Having Ourselves a Merry Little Christmas…

Comments

  1. Pam says

    December 9, 2010 at 9:00 pm

    Oh Cindy! I am so so sorry! My heart breaks for you and Lance as I know exactly the pain you are feeling. I know the heartache you have even though you also have the trust and peace that the Lord brings during this time. And how precious to know that Baby Stuckey is face to face with our Lord (and probably dancing along with Baby Weber #2)! Love you! Praying for you!!

    Reply
  2. Debbie says

    December 9, 2010 at 9:10 pm

    Cynthia,
    Thank you for sharing your heart. My heart hurts with you and I so want to be able to give you a hug. So I will trust our Good and Faithful God to wrap His arms around you and hold you for however long you need to be held. Trusting Him in the valleys of our lives causes us to live out our faith in front of a world that does not know the comfort only He can bring. May we all be found faithful!!! I love you dearly!!!

    Reply
  3. Elaine says

    December 9, 2010 at 11:37 pm

    You put into words so well the same feelings I have had over the last couple of months. We too had spent so much time waiting and trusting that it seemed a little strange to be at a point where we had answers.
    I am sorry to hear your news. While I don't know the particular pain you are feeling, I love you and am praying for you.

    Reply
  4. Tara says

    December 10, 2010 at 3:21 am

    Cindy, I am so sorry! What a beautiful post that captures your grief yet the hope that we have in Christ. Please know that I am praying for you!!!!

    Reply
  5. Caitlin L says

    December 10, 2010 at 10:11 am

    Cindy, with what beautiful and amazing grace you guys are walking through this trial. My heart grieves with yours and is so sad over this heartache, but as you said, your little one is dancing with the Lord joyfully right now. Thank you for your testimony of His goodness and being so transparent in sharing. Thank you for trusting Him and giving Him glory in the midst of so much pain. Love you so much.

    Reply
  6. Evan says

    December 13, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    Hey Cindy

    I was deeply grieved when Lance called me last week to give me the news. Christi and I have been praying for you and Lance the last few days. I appreciate you posting this. Even from the perspective you and Lance shared while still in Wake Forest. You and Lance were always an encouragement to us and we always valued your input when we were there and since our move and yours. Please know that we love you both and let us know if there is anything we can do for you.

    Reply

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Hey There!

I'm Cynthia and I'm so glad you're here. I am an introvert with an extrovert's love of gathering people together. I love good books and capturing moments. Whether you visit me here or on my own front porch, I'll be the one holding the Iced Coffee for us both.

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I saw a magazine cover this week advertising the h I saw a magazine cover this week advertising the headline, “Ditch Gratitude!” 

This is my “No thanks,” face.
My grateful face.
My you-can’t-make-me-face.
Because no matter how long the list of things we still don’t know, I know I need gratitude like water.

Questions remain. Uncertainties abound. Reasons for concern greet us with each January dawn.

Hope remains and so do questions. The two have never been enemies, but cozy next door neighbors.
I’ll keep my gratitude, thank you.
Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will co Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will continue to sigh into in ‘21.
Baking sourdough, watching it bubble and rise and fill our BlueHouse with the scent of a good, long, posture of patience— I absolutely need a second serving of this.
While we wait, and whatever it is that we wait for— may the space between be made sweeter by the knowledge that we never wait alone.
You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapp You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapped this photo was somewhat of a regular day.

What looks like a winter beach vacation was actually the tail-end of a masked lunch stop in the middle of a pandemic road trip.

This sparkling moment of sun-splashed fun was sandwiched between brutal conversations about regular life, especially the hard parts.

And this is how it is. 
These bits of life that we never see coming, they are enveloped between all that makes us tired, weary, sighing pilgrims in a world that was never really meant to be hospitable in the first place.

This photo reminds me to look again at our year, our season, our circumstances.

To look a second and third time.
To keep looking as long as it takes to see that the joy of our right now isn’t gone, it just might be hiding in the shadow of all that’s hard.

Brokenness is never vague. And we don’t have to search very long to see it both within ourselves and around us.
Sometimes the weight of that fact is crushing.
And then, sometimes it reminds us even more clearly of the light shining in darkness.

Joy is an act of defiance against despair and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling rather defiant at the moment.✨✨✨✨

@hopewriters #hopewriterlife 
#feastingandforaging #hopelenses #getaftergrateful
Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially if what we’re called to be about is the same as yesterday and last month. 
It’s difficult to meet each day with the same fervor and joy for what we are called to do, especially when at present, the progress seems small and immeasurable. 
But even then, perhaps especially so — our faithfulness matters.

When we cannot yet see the other side, the light at the end of this particularly long tunnel, we begin again.

Not because we will always wake with fresh energies and bright, sparkling hope for what comes next, friend. But because the God of Endurance (Romans 15:5) dwells within us.

“It is the grace of endurance granted to you by the God of endurance that provides you with everything you need to continue to be what he calls you to be and do what he calls you to do between this moment and the moment when you cross over to the other side. When difficulty exposes the weakness of your resolve and the limits of your strength, you do not have to panic, because He will endure even in this moments when you don’t feel able to do so yourself.” — Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies

#hopewriterlife
Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for paper towels... especially if the store is in convenient proximity to a quick date for croissants and dirty chai for two. Love my forever coffee companion even more at the start of this new year. Wherever he’s going, I’m riding shotgun.
We have learned... The inestimable value of a goo We have learned...

The inestimable value of a good camp chair, for they have been used for everything from soccer benches and coffee dates to theatre seats and church pews.

What our neighborhood streets can offer in the way of an outing—from the colors of spring to the sparkle of Christmas.

To hold plans with the loosest hands possible.

To rejoice in things found. Time. Margin. ...and enough toilet paper to share with a neighbor.

To give grace and accept it for ourselves.

The hilarious joy of a group text complete with “have you seen this meme yet?” 

To pivot. And then pivot again.

To find more joy in candlelight closer to home, instead of the bright lights of traveled cities.

To perfect our pizza dough recipe and truly learn to prefer it over dinner out.

To work with yeast and flour again and again— until the message of waiting for something really good dusted our apron fronts and kitchen floors.

And in our house, we learned how to be unexpectedly unemployed. We learned how to honor that new found space with needed grief and desired hope. How to be grateful for true friends who prayed with us, held questions with us, and hoped with us. We were reminded of our true identity and that it will never rest in a job. 

In a year in which we’ve all lost quite a lot, you and I have been given so much as well. Some of what we’ve lost we have learned to be without. Some, we won’t go looking for again.

In 525,600 minutes and in all the things, found and lost and found again— there is far and away more to be grateful for.

And we choose joy.

✨Happy New Year, dear friends!✨
Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Though the one in our rear view window is one we wouldn’t choose to repeat, still it was one full of God’s nearness.

One day I’ll write it all down.
But for now I’ll just say,
we were not alone. 🕯
“Once in our world, a Stable had something in it “Once in our world, a Stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”
C.S.Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

Joy to the World, friends.
Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 desser Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 dessert ever. Made from a wonky gingerbread cake that did not cooperate.
We shall not go quietly into 2021.
We will fight back with beauty and joy and candles... and fresh whipped cream made by an eleven year old with sparkly green eyes. 🎄❤️✨
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