Crown of Beauty: Session 4- Part 2

February 5-7 found 71 Hope Moms from all over the United States in Giddings, Texas. We spent a weekend sharing our stories, our precious babies, and finding that Christ can indeed comfort the brokenhearted, often through the hands and tears of another sufferer along the way. The following series is a recap of each of the main teaching sessions.

“Your story happened the way the Lord orchestrated it to happen.  He knew before you even got pregnant that this was the way it was going to end.

You can go back and say,

“If I had only done this.”
“If I had only called one day earlier.”
“If only I had recognized when the kicks slowed down and went to the doctor that day.”
“If I had listened to someone else or done something different…”

but He orchestrated this time in your life.  And He is working behind the scenes right now on your behalf. 

He’s strengthening you.
He’s encouraging you.
He’s showing you His character.
He’s showing you that He is in control.
He’s showing you that He will never leave you or forsake you.

The best place for God to work is in the dark, because you have to have faith when you are in the dark.  When you are in the dark, you have to hold His hand, and He has to lead you.  He is aways working behind the scenes.

The tears that you are crying, He’s collecting each and every one of them.  He’s telling you that He’s got you in His arms.  He has not forgotten you.  He has never left you and He will never leave you.  He is in complete control, and the plan He has for you has worked out just the way He intended it to. 

He was not asleep that day.  He wasn’t out working in the Middle East on that day.  He knew exactly what was going on in your life on that day, and He was there all the time.

He was there in the hospital room, at the doctor’s office, in your home…  And if you stopped to think about it, you can see that He was there.  I know I can.  I didn’t know that the doctor that delivered my Grace was a believer until she handed me my baby and said, “I know you’re crying, but this baby is with Jesus.  You can hold her, and you can have her for as long as you’d like.”  And when I look back at all the things that happened, and all the people He put in my path, I know that He was there.  But in the midst of my grief, I didn’t see Him.  I was hurting so bad that all I could think of was, “Lord, why is this happening to me?”

I can’t say that you will return to the laughter that you knew before.  I can’t say that you will return to the smiles you had before.  But, I’m glad that I can’t.  Because of this sorrow, your joy will be all the more sweet from this day on.  You will know joy, and you will know contentment when you learn to lean into Christ and trust Him.

Sometimes I think, “When I get to Heaven, I’m going to have a lot of questions…”

“Why did I have to go through this?”
“Why did this person hurt me?”
“What was going on?”

Then I’m reminded that when I get there it won’t matter.  It won’t matter.  It’s all going to make sense when I get there.  When I see Jesus, and all of who He is, it won’t matter.  I’m going to be too distracted by His glory, to think about any of those questions.  I’m going to forget to ask, “Why?”  And Jesus says, “That’s the point!  Your going to be with me.” 

I’ve been talking with you about the problems we face, and the promises and purpose that the Lord gives us.  One of the problems that I had was control.  I wanted to be in control.  I soon realized that I was not in control of my circumstances, but I was in control of my choices.  In my grief I had a choice to make.  I could either accept that Jesus was here, walking with me in my sorrow giving me purpose, or I could choose not to.  There are consequences both ways.

You can choose to never let go, to hang on to your anger, to just chase after the “good feelings.” But the consequence is that you will never find HIM.  You will never find HOPE.  Or you can choose Jesus.  You can choose His way.  You can choose His plan over yours.  You can choose to say, “Lord, not my way, but Yours be done.”

“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
-1 Corinthians 2:9

Isn’t that wonderful?  I get so excited when I think about the things I don’t know about.  I remember always being excited for my birthday.  I didn’t always know what was going to happen, but I knew it was going to be great!  That is how we live in Christ.  We know He is going to get us out of this place, but we just don’t know what its going to look like.

Will you trust the Lord enough to say, “I don’t know how you are going to get me out of this because, whew!  This is a big one!  I know I can’t do this, and I don’t know how you are going to work it out.  But, I’m standing back and letting you do it.  Because I know you will.  You’ve promised it!”  If you choose Jesus, and you choose to let Him lead you and use you during this time, He will make you oaks of righteousness.  You will stand and everybody will see the Lord in you.  You will be able to comfort those who need to be comforted.  And when people ask you how you got to this place you can say, “On my knees, because I surrendered to Him.”

I wish I could tell you there was some big secret.  I wish I could write a book, “Seven Steps to Get Out of This ________.”  I could make a lot of money on that.  But there is only one answer, and that is Jesus.  The answer is leaning into Him, striving after Him, choosing Him. 

So let it go. Choose Him — hold on to Him.  Let’s just walk with Him and see where He takes us.  Hold His hand, and watch Him restore.  He’s got this under control.  He’s got you, and He’ll never leave.

My name is Shundria Riddick. I am a wife to my best friend, Chris and the mother of 6 wonderful children. Joshua 15, Elyana 14, and Noah 9 are here in my arms. My hope babies Grace, Caleb and Angel have the privilege of living in the presence of Jesus.
Both my husband and I are licensed professional counselors and live outside of Dallas, Texas. I enjoy walking with other moms who are grieving the loss of their precious babies. My counseling practice is focused on guiding others with the truth of God’s word into the hope and freedom that is promised through Christ.
Most of my days are spent cooking, cleaning, and chauffeuring kids. I enjoy spending time with my husband and writing in my blog “Shundria on Shuffle.” You can find my blog and me at www.shundriariddick.com.

To read the rest of the Crown of Beauty Retreat session recaps follow the links below:

Session 1 Recap
Session 2 Recap
Session 3 Recap
Session 4 Recap- Part 1