Daily Devotion by by Amber Holdt

Deuteronomy 31:8-9

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

It was December 8, 1994. I was a high school senior sitting in my English class when my guidance counselor asked me to grab my books and head to the office with her.  It was there that I learned my dad (age 45) had been taken to the hospital after he collapsed while working on our family farm.  My daily routine became going to school, heading to basketball practice or games after school, followed by a visit to the hospital to visit my dad, who had remained comatose since he arrived.  Sadly, my dad passed away on December 31st.  

Fast forward a year and a half later... 

Now in college, after returning to my dorm room, I received a message that my younger sister had been seriously injured in a car accident.  A repeat of the daily routine with which we were all-too-familiar with that sometimes included camping out in the hospital waiting room floor followed.  College classes, softball practices & games, and frequent trips to the hospital continued for almost a month as I finished the semester, until one day, praise God!, Annette simply woke up.  

As traumatic, and life changing as these events were, when I reflect back on them, while a certain sadness lingers, I am filled with warmth as I remember how, on both occasions, we felt surrounded by a constant support of family and friends, as food and transportation for our family (four active high school- and college-aged girls) was provided for, day after day.  

The beginning of my junior year in college, my mom got remarried. In August of 1997, we became a real-life Brady Bunch as my step-dad (who lost his wife to cancer) and his four children blended with us.  We belonged to the same church community and were family friends.

Despite my mom losing her husband and us, our father, the blessing of my stepdad, my step sister and step brothers is clear.  As I reflect, I come to the conclusion that the model of the life my parents lived and live, throughout my entire life, can be distilled down to strength founded in faith.  

So, when times like this arrive, know that God is there to carry you through, whether with you in spirit or body (like the many people that surrounded us in love each time).  Sure, we still mourn the loss of my dad, but I can still look back without falling apart because of the love that surrounded us in our time of trial.  Through these tragedies, our family has emerged closer.  This, I attribute to the presence of the Holy Spirit.