Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Bitter and Sweet (05/28/09)
-
TITLE: A Tattered Heart | Previous Challenge Entry
By Mildred Sheldon
06/03/09 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
When my children were small, I was like a ferocious mother lion protecting them from harm. If anyone said anything derogatory about them, I was ready to tear them apart. As they grew and started to spread their tiny wings, I was there in the midst of their lives. I did not think they could fend for themselves and come out on the other side unscathed or unharmed by the ugliness of this world. Oh how it tore my heart when they became young adults and I had to let them go.
That was the beginning of my tattered heart but time passes quickly for a finite creature such as me. Since then I have faced many trials, tribulations, heartaches and heartbreaks in my life, each has taught me such valuable lessons, and I thank God for the victories won.
After we retired, my husband decided to move closer to his family in Texas. I wasn’t to keen on the idea of moving again. I was tired of moving and I loved my little house and was looking forward to taking life easy. He told our daughter if she moved he would pay off her debt. Well, we moved but he did not keep his promise. The bitterness of that lie not only broke her heart but mine as well.
Four years later, I told my husband I was going to honor the promise he made to our daughter. I withdrew from my retirement enough money to pay off her debt and ours as well. God took the bitterness of my husband’s broken promise and turned it into a sweet blessing for our daughter although it was a little late.
When my son lost his first wife to a long battle with cancer, my heart was shattered. I could not fix his broken heart or mend the feeling of loss he felt. The only thing I could offer were arms that held him as he wept bitter tears and ask God to help him through his heartache. Time marched on and our memories of that tiny earth angel as I fondly call her today are sweeter then honey.
God has a way of changing people and God changed my husband’s heart. He was once again that gentle loving man I fell in love with 42 years before. I lost him in 2004 and God blessed me with children that were my rock when my heart lay in shambles. The bitterness of not having my best friend to share the rest of my life with was heartbreaking. My beloved children took charge and handled everything. Today the memories of that day rest so sweetly upon me. Here again I give God the glory.
Today my baby is facing a battle that only she can fight and here again; I am unable to stand in her stead. Interference from me will not help her with the battle. I must once again stand watching and praying from the sidelines. This battle belongs to her and with God’s help; I know she will be victorious.
Life is a mystery and I thank God that He is in control. At times, I have drunk from the cup of bitterness in my life but strange as it may sound I also drink from the cup of sweetness, which is Christ, the Lord. Psalm 34:8 NIV says. “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.