My Comfort is Your Comfort

II Corinthians 1:4 – Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Growing up, I lived where I was only a seven-minute drive from my grandparents’ house. My sister and I went there every day after school and many times during summers. My grandma would always make us snacks after school, and sometimes we would help her bake sugar cookies. In that huge back yard, we played baseball and flew homemade kites. At eight years of age, I even learned how to drive my grandpa’s pickup truck. (I may have even hit a few things while “driving!”) Since her house was our first stop after school, grandma also helped us do our homework. As she helped us through each assignment, I remember thinking, “Wow! How do you know all of these things?!” Many times, I walked into the house from playing outside, and there, in the living room, she would be reading her Bible. Over the years I went to her with many a problem or question, and she would always approach life so positively in her advice.

In the fall of 2010, my grandma was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. It was untreatable and inoperable. The doctors recommended radiation only to keep her comfortable for what life remained for her, giving her an estimate of four to six months to live. In the spring of 2011, my grandma went home to be with the Lord.

In the fall of 2014, I got a call from my mom and, after hearing something in her voice, I knew something was wrong. As she continued to talk, that word cancer came ringing back into my ear. As I hung up the phone, I fell to the floor and just started to cry. I had no words, only devastating sorrow. “My mom has cancer, but she can’t! She’s only fifty-two!” I said to myself. I prayed and asked God, “Why? We just went through my grandma’s cancer and are still trying to get over her death.” This was a massive blow to the heart. My mom, the strongest lady I knew, had cancer. In the spring of 2016, after a long battle, my mom went home to be with Lord.

The Bible tells us, …that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. At the time of going through these heartaches, I did not see the good in it. Now I see that going through heartache with my grandma helped to prepare me to go through the heartache with my mom. Going through the heartache with my mom helped me to lean on the Lord, and I know it helped me to grow as a Christian. When we go through a loss, a trial, or a tribulation, we can actually learn from it and be a comfort to those around us. Our heartaches may just be what helps others. If they see us go through whatever it is, that can be what gives them hope. That can be what pushes them to keep going. It is a comfort to them to see that we made it. We made it because God gave us comfort in our personal tribulations, troubles, and trials.

We must let God comfort us through the trials so we can be a comfort to others in their trials.

by Mandy Harper