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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Holding Out Hope

August 26, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

We’ve had a lot of “This too shall pass..” moments around here lately.

Most of them just minor inconveniences. Fridge Breaking (It’s fixed.) Car breaking again (also fixed.) Toaster breaking in the middle of the morning waffle toasting (it’s been replaced.) Hole in the Ceiling (appears to not be a major “roof” issue– fingers crossed on that one.) Oh, and the dreaded stomach bug over the last few days, (It seems to have left one child and hopefully will leave the other in the next day or so. It could have been so much worse.)

All of these were inconvenient. Most cost money we didn’t want to spend. But God provided in every. single. circumstance. But the whole, “If it’s not one thing it’s another” phrase? It seems to have been so much at one time. I found myself making a mental “gratefulness list” just to survive and keep some shred of sanity.

Thankful for the temporary use of a small fridge. Thankful for the time and ingredients to bake muffins to replace our toast. Thankful for the repairman that saved us over $1,000 just because we shopped around. Thankful the ceiling issue may be due to the air conditioner, and thus– covered by home warranty. Thankful that both girls were not actively… getting “sick” at the same time. Thankful for a sale on gatorade and jello. Thankful for a found coupon that saved us $10.00 on a new toaster. Thankful for the generosity of others. Thankful for the home we have in which we all get to share our life (and even all these problems) TOGETHER. Thankful that we are healthy. So thankful we are healthy. 

However.

There’s another element of this. We’ve had another struggle that causes all of these to sort of pale in comparison. It’s definitely what I was most thinking about when I wrote this last month. There has been this mountain in our way for close to a year now. We’ve been faithful to pray about it at every turn. We’ve taken the necessary steps to “eliminate” this mountain from our lives, but only after we felt confirmation from God about the proper course of action. But mostly, we have just found silence. Encouraging silence, to be sure. The encouragement that He is moving, though we cannot see it, but silence still. There was a time back in April, when we had an opportunity to go in a completely different direction, somewhere we once called home and we. just. couldn’t. do . it. Though nearly every bit of evidence appeared to point to the fact that this opportunity was the wise course of action, we just couldn’t find peace regarding the new opportunity. And though we know that was the right decision, it did make it difficult to return to our current circumstances, not knowing how long it would be until God opened the right door.

Well, we wait still and I have to be honest and say, that the waiting is so hard. In the last few days, it has become evident that our current situation may end abruptly… before God has revealed our next step. That is very difficult to accept.  The unknown just got a lot bigger. I find myself desperate for some unbelievably encouraging words to share with the one I love. Some truth about our future, but the fact is… This is a bit of a Red Sea. And we are waiting for God to part the waters for us. And only HE knows how He will, and when. And our job? Sit back and wait for Him to open the door. And praise Him in the interim.

I read this post this morning, When Seemingly Worse is Better than Sameness, and though it’s mainly about the complete disarray that comes in a Home Renovation, I found it completely applicable to our lives right now. Because I KNOW. I know that when dealing with a home project, things appear to get way worse before they start to get better. That’s us. That’s where we are with this. Sitting in a pile of chaos, waiting for the beauty and order. Knowing that something AMAZING is just around the corner.

Someone wise said to me yesterday, “Tell Lance, He isn’t Job. He is Joseph.” It took me until this morning on my walk to think of that again and wrap my head around the fact that it’s true. Though it may seem that all of this is for evil. (And believe me, it does. We are confident that this is as much a spiritual battle as anything else.) God will mean it for GOOD.

Redemption.

We see just a fragment of what He is doing. Just a small shred of His plan for our lives. All of this… all of these trials give us every opportunity to trust in Him. We have the special gift of putting feet to our faith. We are able to hold out HOPE that He is active and that He truly will bring His purposes to pass. And that we will not be left alone. We may be left uncomfortable for a while. But not alone. And Praise God, not without Hope.

6 Years
Apple Oatmeal Scones with Maple-Cinnamon Glaze

Comments

  1. Courtney Sexton says

    August 26, 2013 at 4:51 pm

    We are lifting you and Lance up in prayer. Love you, friend. Keep fighting for truth- to believe in Him. That is what is lasting. And we are here for you both.

    Reply
  2. Meredith B says

    August 26, 2013 at 6:14 pm

    Awesome Cindy! I remember doing the play in high school “God Meant it For Good”. God will never leave us, although as you say, it can get very uncomfortable at times.

    Reply
  3. Tara Dew says

    August 27, 2013 at 2:55 am

    Praying for you and Lance. May you rest in Him, knowing that He is God. And He holds the victory!

    Reply

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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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Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all the answers, yet.

While you sit in a season of waiting,
the calendar can often be a cruel companion, reminding you that days go by, weeks, months— with what feels like very little change in the right direction.

Perhaps you can easily assent to: 
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but you strain to see just how it will be when: “...a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)

Wherever you and I are today— whether we wander, wait, stand firmly planted, or some pressed together combination of all three — we can take heart.

We are not alone.
And this will not be wasted.
What seems to be an unending blank space, an indefinite pause, is a space for new things.

Long before all is made right, and whether or not it all is tied up neatly with a perfectly crafted bow— we can know this:

We do not have to know the outcome to be faithful today.

✨Joy is not disregard for reality as much as it is obstinacy against despair.✨
Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. T Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. There. I said it. These days I’m gravitating to the true & the beautiful as rest for my weary self... and I wonder if you are too.

So much so, that I’m starting a new little offering, it’s called “The Feast: Wonder for the Weary” and the first issue goes out this weekend. It’s a bit more personal (okay this first one is WAY more personal. 🤭) It will be a little bit of everything, all with the goal of offering REST to both the feasters & foragers alike. If you’re already a subscriber— no need to do anything, if not— click through my bio to “keep in touch” and join the feast.✨
We are a people of both lament and praise. We hol We are a people of both lament and praise.

We hold questions without answers— yet we hold them in hands already full of good things.

We hold our daily bread, our daily gifts, and we hold the daily closeness of the God Who Sees.

The God who is no stranger to our lament, and Who Is the reason for our every hope.
He does not grow weary of our asking. Of our need to be told again, He will. 

You friend, are not invisible.
You are seen and cared for by the God who does all things well. (Even when they feel anything but.)
Married love ambition: making the kids roll their Married love ambition: making the kids roll their eyes at our “gushy-ness” as often as possible. 

President & CEO of the Lance Stuckey Fan Club— in every season, but especially on days like today.
Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty k Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty kitchen.😍🌧📚

On this chilly Saturday, we spent entirely too long browsing for books at our library and then all came home to a fire, mochas, and cocoa, respectively. Of all the things we do not know at this very moment, we know the gifts abound, and are worth counting.

PS, if you haven’t spread whipped cream on a foil-lined baking sheet to freeze, and then cut out cute shapes with cookie cutters to top your coffee or hot cocoa, may I suggest you get thee on that at once.
“If God sends us on strong paths, we are provide “If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes.” — Corrie Ten Boom

✨File under, things to save in a fire.✨

The prayer journal pictured here contains six months of the hard & the sweet.
Six months of prayers asked & answered for ourselves and for others.
Six months of seeing through prayer, not how it changed our circumstances necessarily but how it changed us.

I always appreciate a record like this— being able to clearly see the paths we are led down, rocky though they may be? Priceless.

The ways God has come near us & drawn us to Himself again and again are written on these pages and I’ll treasure it forever.

Also pictured: Psalms Illuminated Scripture Journal. Highly recommend. Thank you always, @allifarnell
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it th “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

While scrolling through my photos today, my heart was heavy to realize how far back “before” was.

Before masks and distancing, before loss, before other, more personal bits of hard. Multitudinous change, neither all bad nor all good.

With our free time, we’ve introduced our girls to Tolkien, Bilbo, Frodo, and especially Samwise the Brave. They are officially hooked and we are delighted to watch them discover another world where evil doesn’t win, and the courage of the small matters much. {they close their eyes at the Orcs and we haven’t had a nightmare yet!}🤞🏻😂😬
I’m leaning increasingly more into the analog th I’m leaning increasingly more into the analog these days.

It started with the Sourdough and a dozen different kinds of jam last year.
I suddenly find great calm in activities that stand in direction opposition to hurry, the textbook definition of ✨work in progress.✨ And really, if you could see the other side of this piece, you would believe me. 🙃

Thank you to @thebarmyfox for making embroidery so accessible!
@thenester says, “It doesn’t have to be perfec @thenester says, “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful,” and I believe that the weeknight meal equivalent is, “Just because it’s easy— doesn’t make it a second-tier supper!”

Thank you, Spaghetti with Meat sauce for being both a ministry to mom AND a crowd pleaser. Especially on a dreary January-ish day. It is ✨quite alright✨ to make something we’ve made a million times just because we know it makes the people happy.🍝
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