1400 Central Park Blvd, Fredericksburg, VA

It is another week at home, and life has been so hard, but even here, even now, I still praise God for the breath in my lungs, for my family, and for this life He has given me.

Some praises come easy, and some have to be pulled up from a place much deeper, from the part of the soul that has cried, worried, grieved, and still decided that God is good.

This week, my praise is not pretty, but it is real. It comes from a heart that has been carrying a lot, from a spirit that has felt stretched thin, and from someone who is still learning how to worship while life feels so much more complicated than I ever expected.

Today, I joined the online service at Lifepoint Church as Church #164 on this journey, and what a journey this continues to be.

When I think about all God has carried me through over these past three years of visiting churches, I can only say that His faithfulness has been far greater than my strength. There have been weeks of joy and weeks of deep sorrow, weeks where I felt full of hope and weeks where I felt like I was simply hanging on, but week after week, God has still made a way for worship, still met me in the living room, still turned ordinary spaces into beautiful ones, and still reminded me that He has not forgotten me.

Today’s sermon by Pastor Jennifer McGill, titled “God Remembered Her,” touched my heart more than words can say. It was one of those messages that does not just pass through your ears, but settles into the places in you that have been screaming in. It reminded me that when God is silent, it does not mean we are forgotten. He sees the brokenhearted. He sees those who feel like life has pressed them down into the ground. And even in our imperfect pursuit of Him, He still sees us.

This season has held so many worries. I know we are instructed not to worry. I know Scripture tells us to be anxious for nothing, to cast our cares on Him, to trust Him with all our hearts, to rest in His goodness, and yet I still find myself struggling. I worry about my family. I worry about the future. I worry because grief has made life feel so fragile. I worry because when you have watched things change so quickly, your heart starts trying to protect itself from every possible blow. And yet in the middle of all of that, I am trying, truly trying to give it all to Jesus and not pick it back up.

That is where this message met me. It reminded me that even when my pursuit feels imperfect, even when my prayers feel worn thin, even when my faith feels more like reaching than resting, God is not standing far away waiting for me to get it all exactly right before He notices me. He remembers. He sees. He knows. He is not frustrated by my weakness. He is not intimidated by the tears, the questions, the doubts, or the weariness. He is a miracle worker, and I am really believing that He is going to keep working miracles in my life.

Like the miracle of getting through a hard day. The miracle of hope returning after grief has tried to hollow everything out. The miracle of still being able to lift your hands and say, “God, You are good,” even when life has not felt good.

That is one of my deepest convictions right now, God is good when life is not. His goodness is not dependent on my circumstances. His faithfulness is not dependent on everything making sense. His love does not lessen when the road gets hard. He is still good in the sorrow. He is still good in the waiting. He is still good in the unanswered questions. He is still good when my heart feels tired and my mind feels crowded with concerns.

We must choose worship over worry, and I say that as someone still learning how to do it. His plans are still good, even when I do not understand them. His heart is still kind, even when the path is hard. His hand is still steady, even when mine is not.

I also loved the reminder in this message to pursue Him, even in frailty. He asks us to come because He loves us. He touches our broken hearts. He is near to the crushed in spirit.

I encourage us all to go outside, look at the sky, listen to the birds, raise our hands in praise, and remember that He sees us. I really do. Because sometimes when life has been hard and grief has been heavy and worry has been loud, we need to be reminded to lift our eyes again. To look at the sky and remember that the God who hung it there still holds us. To hear the birds and remember that creation still sings of Him. To raise our hands in praise even if our heart feels shattered, because He is still worthy and we are still loved.

God has carried us this far and He is not about to stop now.

Thank you, Lifepoint Church, for such a meaningful service and for a message that reached right into the middle of what my heart needed today. Thank you for the reminder that God remembers, that His remembrance is intentional, that He sees the brokenhearted, and that even when life is painful, His goodness remains. I am grateful for the worship, for the Word, and for the way the Holy Spirit continues to meet me right where I am.

And as always, I am eager to see where the Holy Spirit leads next.

The message I’ll carry with me is that when God seems silent, it does not mean He has forgotten. He still sees. He still knows. He still loves. He still heals. He still works miracles. So I will keep praising, keep pursuing, keep lifting my eyes, and trusting in Him.

Love you all,

Annie Stewart Lambert