Surgery

Let me say up front this may be resemble a rambling and a weaving of a couple of thoughts together. If this doesn't make sense, don't worry about it. I'm still working through this myself. If it speaks to your heart, take it and run with it. For those of you who are theologically literate, cut me some slack and grant me some grace. I would love to hear from you, but don't scorch me yet. - Mike

I must admit that in Karen's passing it feels as though a part of me has been amputated. It's as though a vital part of my life has been cut away. I guess this may be part of the valley expereince. When I think about it, the valley experience may be about pruning, sacrificing, and the shedding of something close to us. Sometimes it's incredible people like Karen. Now she wasn't some bad habit or some stuff I needed to get rid of. She was something that I depended upon - heavily. For others it could be a vice, addiction, relationship, habit, or anything that you dearly hang on to.

Sometime during her battle with cancer - and my deepest desire to minister to her - a friend emailed me a devotion she had received. The focus of the devotion was identifying the "Isaac" in our lives and challenging us to willingly offer them up to God. Just as Abraham was willing to offer up his one and only son, Isaac, upon the altar of sacrifice, God may want us to offer up that which is close and dear to our hearts. That's what I did. For Abraham, God provided a substitution for Isaac, a ram to be sacrificed. I offered Karen up to God to do with what he wished. For Karen - and me - that was her life. For another friend who did something very similar when his wife was deathly ill, it meant healing. The outcome isn't always the same.

I say all that to say this - when we are in the valley we may be asked to sacrifice our "Isaac." What is your "Isaac?" What is it in your life that you cling to, you hold so dear? What, or who for that matter, that if taken from you would cause you to feel as though someone had amputated it/them from your own body?

Remember, it's not for others to say what that thing or who that person is. It is for you to identify. Once you identify your "Isaac" then offer it to God. It's not about the thing or the person, it's about obedience; giving it/them up to God. It's about worship; honoring God with all that you have. When it comes down to it - it's about God, not about us.

As I continue through the valley experience I must trust that when I offered Karen up to God he was pleased with my offering and that he will guide me through the valley. You, too, must remember that God loves you and is waiting for your offering. He WILL walk you through the valley.


Sacrificing my Isaac,
Mike