Beautiful Battlefields

I always think it must be harder for the carer than for the sufferer in a case like mine. There is so little you can do, except be there. I have a good friend in Australia who's called Liz. She lost her husband to MND a few years back. Today she sent me Easter blessings and told me about a new book by a lady named Bo Stern, Beautiful Battlefields. Her husband was diagnosed with ALS/MND in 2011. I'd love to meet her. She's a young (well, she looks young to me!) pastor in Oregon. She has a blog called The Difference of Day, and she writes well. I hope she won't mind my quoting her Good Friday post, which is a lovely counter-balance to my rather dour one.
The Best Friday

It’s interesting to me that we call the worst day in all of history “Good Friday.”  Maybe we intuitively understand that the best thing in our lives came out of the darkest moment in His.

I think Paul got it exactly right with this bold statement:   “I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering…”

I don’t like suffering, but I keep running into evidence that it’s important.  Suffering sets the stage for victory, making all things possible.

Unless a seed falls and dies, it cannot bear fruit.

When our seeds of hope are buried in the soil of suffering, everything falls away from them except real, true life.   And it feels like all is lost and all is winter.

Then bursting forth in glorious day…

I love this Beautiful Friday.

Happy Easter.
Bo.

I shall be getting hold of Beautiful Battlefields.

This is the song from which she quotes: In Christ alone. Brilliant! I find it hard singing the last verse; I believe it so much. Easter has never ended!