Praising His Name No Matter What Comes

I followed my daughter through the glass double doors while she sang out loud, “Good God Almighty, I hope you find me, praising your name no matter what comes.”

She stopped singing only when she had to stop at the front desk and speak to the attendants.  As we walked down the hall to her room, she sang again, “Praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the noontime, praise Him when the sun goes down.”

I had a great perspective as I walked several steps behind her with a rolling cart full of boxes I’d packed up from the last dorm she stayed at. The last dorm where I showed up in the middle of the night and picked her up after she called me desperate, anxious, and at the end of her own ability to fight the overwhelming sadness, loneliness, and anxiety she felt after her father had died.

The last school, as beautiful and full of promise as it was, became the scene of her last lost battle. If our entire lives are one drawn-out war of good vs. evil — God vs. Satan — we are bound to lose a few battles, even if we know for certain who reigns in the end.

My daughter put up the best fight. She put every ounce of energy into the battle. She focused every single brain cell she had toward succeeding in difficult classes. She woke up early, went to bed late, studied in between classes, and tutored on weekends.

And because she was working so hard, she felt so, so alone. Depression set in. Despair. Loneliness.

Finally, after months of giving it everything she had– all her blood, sweat, and tears (she actually did bleed when she wore dress shoes to a presentation for one class and walked two miles each way in them…ouch)–she called me broken, and I brought her home.

She took time off to fix herself up.  An entire semester, which to a motivated twenty-year-old feels like an eternity.

And what happened during that time is beyond miraculous.  Yes, her anxiety and depression are better, but she still fights them.

I’m sure the classes she’s signed up for will be difficult at times, and she’ll struggle.

What’s changed is the thing that’s got her singing at the top of her lungs. It’s not really a thing, though. It’s a He. And He’s Jesus.

I still can’t wrap my mind around why she had to lose that battle. I wrestled with God myself in prayer over how many wonderful things He could have taught her by allowing her to have been successful at that school. But God had other plans for her (that He still hasn’t let me in on).

After she lost that battle and was broken beyond any point I’ve ever seen her before (and she’s already been through a lot in her short years), she came out singing about Jesus. Even in the face of something that scares the daylights out of her. After being broken down and rebuilt again by God (not by Mom), she is praising God, even when walking into another battle that looks a whole lot like the one she lost.

I watched her sing, praise, and smile, and then I unpacked boxes and scrubbed the toilet (does nobody check these kids OUT of their dorm rooms anymore? GROSS!). And when she saw that I was ready to leave, her cheeks got pink, and she paced and got nervous that I was leaving her alone during her battle.

I asked her if she wanted to pray with me before I left.  As we prayed, I realized she wasn’t asking Jesus to save her from the struggle.  She didn’t ask Him to give her victory in her newest battle.

She thanked Him for getting her here.

Good God Almighty.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  When I grow up, I want to be my daughter, Kasie.

Patience is defined as ‘the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.”

Leave it to my own child to teach me what it is to be patient. I would add to this definition that being patient as a Christian also means that you will praise God (at the top of your lungs, aloud, while moving into your dorm room), even when you’re afraid that you’re going to be delayed and when you can endure troubles and suffering without getting angry or upset.

Julie Christian

Julie Christian has four children, ages 12,13, 21, and 31. She is married to the man of her dreams, Mike Christian, and she writes from her home in southwest Georgia. Julie has completed two novels, Sugar Machine, and Her Father’s Ocean. She is currently writing her third novel, Come @s U R. Her work will be published in the upcoming devotional compilation, Abba’s Heart (Crossriver Media), and her story is featured in a chapter of Strength of a Woman (Crews, Ascender Books). She is president of online Word Weavers chapter, Page 40. She is an ambassador and featured blogger at ScreenStrong Families Managing Media and a contributor to InspireAFire.com. She has been featured on podcasts such as Other Peoples Shoes, and Look out for Joy. Her work has been featured in The Epoch Times. You can learn more about her and her work at www.juliechristian.com.

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2 comments

  1. You and your daughter are amazing. God bless you all and I pray she finds peace and success in this new challenge. Cheryl Caron

  2. Julie, what an awesome God & what an awesome daughter you have . I will be praying for Kasie along this journey that she is on . She can do it with God’s help. ????????????

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