A BEND IN THE ROAD

In February our home study was completed and approved just as I was diagnosed with Stage 1A Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer. Our adoption was put on hold until treatment was complete and a medical diagnosis could be made. The next few weeks were a time of confusion and searching for God's will.

I poured over my prayer journals for the past few years and prayed. Later that day a poem, The Bend In the Road, was sent to me. As I read it, I felt God's presence and His voice telling me that He is standing at this crossroad of adoption and health issues with me and even though it looks like the end to me, He sees the big picture and it is simply a bend in the road, that the pause in the adoption process caused by the cancer is simply a rest in the journey, and the best is yet to come. My work is not finished or ended, I've simply come to a bend in the road.


THE BEND IN THE ROAD
When we feel we have nothing left to give
And we are sure that the song has ended,
When our day seems over and the shadows fall
And the darkness of night has descended,
Where can we go to find the strength
To valiantly keep on trying?
Where can we find the hand that will dry
The tears that the heart is crying?
There's but one place to go and that is to God,
And dropping all pretence and pride,
We can pour out our problems without restraint
And gain strength with Him at our side.
And together we stand at life's cross roads
And view what we think is the end,
But God has a much bigger vision,
And He tells us it's only a bend.
For the road goes on and is smoother,
And the pause in the song is a rest,
And the part that's unsung and unfinished
Is the sweetest and richest and best.
So rest and relax and grow stronger
Let go and let God share your load.
Your work is not finished or ended
You've just come to a bend in the road.

Helen Steiner Rice

Philippians 3:13-14, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”