A Firm Foundation

Our theme song throughout much of our married life has been "How Firm a Foundation." A few of the words of this hymn were put into Mark's mind when he would have anxiety over our struggling business years ago, "Fear not, I am with thee." Since the beginning of this melanoma journey, those same words have often given us comfort. At church meetings, this hymn would be sung at times that we needed it most. 

The words of the verse that have been most meaningful to us are:

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

We have felt his hand in our lives on so many occasions. While some situations have tested our strength and resilience, we have never felt alone. He has always been there to give us aid, and he has literally caused Mark to stand when we wondered if he would ever stand again. Also, we have felt tremendous loving support from our dear family and friends. 

Today, as we were listening to a gospel study class, this hymn was referred to in how the trials we endure actually help us build a firm foundation. That gave us a new perspective. When we reread the entire hymn, this verses stood out to us:

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be they supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. 

A dear friend shared a scripture at church today that reminds us that these experiences (she prefers "experiences" to 'trials')  are for our good. "...peace be unto thy soul; ... thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high."

When we're in the midst of these fiery trials, it can burn, but this perspective gives us courage and hope. As we look back on our lives, we are grateful for many of those difficult experiences that tutored us and allowed for amazing miracles in our lives.