Bible Reading: Acts 3:18-21; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Marilyn gazed at her dad as he dozed in the hospital bed. She hated the atrocious yellow hospital gown and the tubes that went into his chest. He was supposed to be strong, but here he just looked tired and weary.
"How much longer will he be here?" Marilyn asked Mom hesitantly. She desperately wanted Dad home.
A deep sigh came from her mom. She rubbed her forehead. "I don't know, honey. The doctor is unsure."
Marilyn bit her lip. "Doesn't God want Dad to be healed?"
Mom took Marilyn's hand in her own, and Marilyn leaned into the warm touch in the otherwise cold and bare room. "God loves us and your dad so much, Marilyn--more than we could ever comprehend. He doesn't want us to be sick or suffer. God is good, and He hates our pain, but He allows it in our lives for reasons we don't fully understand."
"I hate it too." Marilyn glanced at Dad again as he slept.
Mom squeezed her hand. "Every day I ask God, 'Why is there sickness?'" Marilyn felt assured knowing Mom asked the same big questions she did. "The world isn't supposed to be this way," Mom said. "Even though we humans messed it up with our sin, God is at work every single day to make it whole again. That work is called restoration."
"And He's doing this now?"
Mom nodded. "It started in the first book of the Bible when God promised to bless His people and guide them when they were lost. Then Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again so our relationship with God could be restored. Jesus also healed and fed people, giving us a glimpse of God's plan for eternal restoration. Today I see His restoration in the gifts He's given people and the ways they use them to help others--like the doctors caring for your dad. And one day, God promises to bring complete and total restoration. There will be no more sickness and no more death forever."
Dad stirred in his bed as Marilyn asked, "But what about today?"
"Today I hold on to that hope knowing that God is with me, you, and Dad," Mom said.
Marilyn smiled at Dad as he slowly opened his eyes. Hope. For now, that was enough.
–Zoe Brickner
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