A Life Well-Rooted
Marlys Roos, Guest Writer
Today’s Treasure
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
“When we engage both lament and gratitude, then each becomes stronger and truer.”1
Several friends drove out to the country to help clean out my sister and brother-in-law’s house even during Covid. When they came, I would make lunch, and we would sit on the wrap-around porch, marvel at the mountains nearby, and talk. Their presence and friendship were a light during dark days, treasures I hold dear on earth and they laid up for themselves in heaven (Matt. 6:20).
Susan was one of those friends. She was a super organizer and a huge help. The third or fourth time she came, she commented that she was inspired to start organizing her house. (I thought it always was organized!) She planned to use the lockdown time to throw away, give away, and put away—and get her husband and son to help.
I could write much about the conversations and events Susan and I shared since those talks on the porch. During an almost two-hour phone call earlier this year, she shared a word she had learned: Dayenu. When she told me the word, I thought that it sounded like “die anew” and had something to do with dying to sin (1 Pet. 2:24). But that wasn’t it.
The Hebrew word Dayenu is interpreted, “It would have been enough . . .” It’s used to praise God for doing more than expected. It would have been enough—Dayenu—for Christ to live on earth and teach, but He died for our sin (Rom. 5:8). It would have been enough— Dayenu—for Christ to save us from the wrath of God, but God adopted us and made us joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:14-17). You get the idea.
Susan hadn’t called just to share the word. She called to share she had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her bones and brain. She shared how timely learning her new favorite word was, how God had opened doors, and provided an answer to why she hadn’t felt “right.” She called because she wanted her friends to know and to know she loved us. I was in shock and started writing “the script” for the coming months with opportunities to deliver meals, to keep her company, and to pray together. However, God had another plan, just as He had in 2020.
Three weeks later another friend and I took food to Susan and her family. We had a three-hour lunch as we shared our hearts and memories. It was a gift. It would have been enough to have spent that time with Susan, but she also wanted to give us a gift, a copy of the book from which she learned Dayenu.2 The next week, she entered the hospital for surgery and never left.
At her memorial service, we met people who had first met Susan when she had volunteered to help their friends (whom she did not know) clean up after a flood. Her husband told how Susan had cried after friends started signing up to bring them food, not because she was in need but because she wasn’t going to be able to take food to others in need. Susan’s life was a testimony of strong vertical roots in Christ and His Word with many lateral roots reaching out and holding others.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
As I lament and miss Susan, I am grateful for the time we had. I am grateful that God used the time at my sister’s to prepare Susan for what laid ahead and that by my being with her and now missing her, He continues to teach me to number my days (Ps. 90:12). And when He calls me Home, it will be more than enough—Dayenu—to be in God’s presence but also to be with the covenant-family, including Susan.
PRAYER
Abba, Father, You teach us to run to You with our laments as well as with our praise so that we may draw closer to You in both and be strengthened by Your presence with us on this journey. Thank You for providing friends and family and mentors along the way. And thank You for the table You have set for us at Home. Amen.
1 Kelly M. Kapic. You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2022), 206.
2 Tyler Staton. Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2022).
Now we begin our summer What She Said series. Our first guest writer is Patsy Kuipers. Patsy returns to Daily Treasure and writes through the grid of loss and joy. Please share Daily Treasure with friends who will be encouraged by the messages designed to help turn our hearts toward Jesus.
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About the Author: Marlys Roos is publications coordinator for the PCA’s Committee on Discipleship Ministries. She, her husband, and son live in Atlanta and are members of Perimeter Church.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Saturday, 24 August 2024.
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