Good or Bad by CeCe Clark

Recently, I read a quote that struck a chord with me. If I could remember who said it, I truly would give them due credit here, because the truth and wisdom in this statement is blatant. “I believe that there is just as much good in any situation as there is bad. You just need to know where to look.” Wow.

At first, the temptation is strong to qualify this concept – to make it conditional: “That may be true of many situations, but…” or “If you knew the circumstances I’m dealing with…”

At the age of 51, my mom suffered a severe stroke. It was inconceivable that a woman so vibrant, so healthy, and with such a servant’s heart could have been struck down in one fell swoop as she was. For two years, I watched this woman – whose vocabulary was suddenly limited to 8 to10 words – face this attack head on with all the positive determination of a motivational guru. She pushed through physical, occupational, and speech therapy for two years…and made no progress to speak of. By the grace of God, and through sheer determination, she kept on. Today, she has limited weakness on her right side and in her speech, but she still has this amazing positive spirit. It cannot be squelched. She found the good, and the ability to place her focus there. The results have been spectacular!

For years, although I have followed her lead and made an intentional effort to accept this loss in my life, I was not quite able to consider this tragedy a blessing…until about two weeks ago.

I was able to spend some time with my mom and dad and, as usual, we sought out a casual restaurant for some good food. We were in their home town, and a waft of nostalgia was in the air. As we enjoyed our food and caught up, our conversation turned down more serious avenues, and eventually we landed at the topic of Mom’s stroke. My mom looked me square in the eye and said, “I’m glad it happened.” What? WHAT? It amazed me! It astounded me! It freed me. As she shared her thoughts, her reasons, how she felt that her life had ultimately been blessed by this savage attack, I found the years of anger, regret, confusion, and loss melting away. It was awesome! What I saw in my mom’s face was so sincere, so real, I knew that she had found a personal blessing and intimacy with God through the whole thing, and I was finally at peace about it all, too.

“There is just as much good in any situation as there is bad. You just need to know where to look.”

When we look to Christ, when we seek his time, his fellowship, his pleasure, we can find the good. We can find real joy, and we can let go of our losses and our struggles. It is a truly amazing phenomenon. When seeking his face is my number one priority, and when focusing on meeting the needs of others is priority number two, joy will come. Maybe my circumstances won’t change. I might even have to sacrifice my will. But my heart will be light!

And now I wonder: how is my heart today? On what am I focusing? Who have I inspired? Whose burden have I lifted? Who is feeling better today because I was here?

. . . And what about tomorrow?

CeCe Clark

It's Already Done by CeCe Clark

The tendency to value our accomplishments is so great. We put titles after our names, hang certificates on our walls, and blush when people acknowledge our successes. We are driven by our culture, our pride, our sense of self-worth to be sure that we will have accomplished something at the end of our lives.

We like to feel needed. We like to know that our efforts count for something and that our work has affected the status quo. When we are asked to volunteer, don’t we feel a sense of satisfaction that we are needed? That we can bring something of value to the table? That we are, at least in some small way, validated? Even if we choose not to do it, we like to know what we can DO, because then we know that we matter.

We are worn out from all our efforts. We strive to balance a ridiculous number of tasks and images. We want to be sure that we keep up, meet deadlines, and avoid failure. It’s no wonder that the concept of Christ’s sacrifice for us is so difficult to grasp! Here we are, struggling to DO.

But we serve a God who is striving to tell us that it’s all been DONE!

Think about it. Take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. You are, in God’s eyes, already cherished. Even before we accept Jesus, God deems us worthy - worthy enough to have sacrificed HIS SON for us. And once we claim Jesus as our Savior, our work is DONE. We have done enough. The rest is total freedom! Complete surrender. Complete acceptance.

Do we really believe this? Do we live like we believe it? Are we OK with it? Are we willing to allow this same experience for others?

Take some time today to sit in the presence of the God who created you. Rest…Read…Dream…Pray. Contemplate WHO you are in CHRIST, and that there’s nothing you can do to lose God’s love - or earn it. Just be. Get to know HIM, and let Him INSPIRE you!

CeCe Clark