drops like stars...

*i wrote this entry in my own blog a couple of weeks ago and asked

heather if i could post it here...thank you for your authentic selves.  -ben & jaren

i have been profoundly impacted by my dear friend, 

heather and her story.  

her life.  her authentic self.

she and her husband have 4 children under the age of 4.  

one of her twin daughters suffered significant brain damage at birth.

life has significantly changed in their home.

i was able to sit across from her this morning at panera 

and listen to new parts of her story.  

not pretty parts.

indescribably difficult, painful parts.  

the kind of parts where

the words that start to describe it 

can do nothing else but take your

breath away.  

as i listened and grieved these new parts with her...in my mind i wanted

to insulate her...protect her from feeling any more of this ache.  and it 

hit me that if that was even possible, it would keep her from experiencing

some of the most intimate moments that she has had with her Savior.

i saw the most beautiful in her.  

she, in the midst of her sorrow was shining.

{and not the kind that is trying to be -optimistic, positive--blah!}  

it was a true shining all the way through. 

it permeated her.  

and i realized it was because i was seeing the Most High.  

i saw that He was meeting her where she was at...and she was letting Him.

i saw the genuine and the real alongside

seeing the most painful parts that she and her husband are now walking through. 

  

i guess that is why i am up writing this at 4:00 in the morning.  

i couldn't sleep-not without doing something

about my experience today...i couldn't let it go unnoted. 

she lent me this book...drops like stars by rob bell.  she mentioned that it was like a coffee table-kind-of-book and it would take no less than 30 minutes to read.

as soon as i got home, i opened it and read it.  

i couldn't put it down.  i gave it to ben and he said the same thing.

we could relate to it on so many different

levels.  

it is the most accurate to placing words and 

experiences to suffering and loss that i have ever come across.

if you are finding yourself in a place of suffering, or know someone else who is..this book may be a great gift for

you or someone you care about.