Well, Is It?

2 Kings 4 tells the story of Elisha, who prayed for the Shunammite woman to have a child, and she did. The boy grew up and was working in the field one day when he grabbed his head in pain and then died. She headed straight for the prophet. Elisha saw her when she was quite a bit away and sent his servant, Gehazi to check on her. When he asked her if everything was okay, she answered, It is well. 

One way to look at it is that it was her statement of faith. Another way to look at it is that it's an outright lie. Gahazi specifically asked her if all was well with her, with her husband, and with her son. But all wasn't well as the boy had died. I'll take it as her painful, but faith-filled declaration. She was probably numb on the inside, and like most mother's in distress she likely had tons of unanswered questions about the moment and the future. Yet she says, All is well.

As caregivers, we can live in an "all is well" state. We don't tell people how we feel. We don't tell them what's going on in our minds. We put out an attitude that everything is okay. In some ways, we have to, because if we told people how we were really feeling sometimes, they'd think we weren't fit to be caregivers. 

We nod our heads to indicate that we are okay and all is well, knowing we are dying inside. Maybe we are in a constant state of overload, but we'll let on like it's all cool. Caregiver burnout is real, but there's not much one can do about it, in many cases. So, we just go on with our it is well attitude.

I'm not judging! I relate! 

Once the woman got to Elisha, she collapsed. He recognized that she was in deep grief, even though she hadn't said a word. Elisha understood her through her sobbing - and he didn't try to stop her. He let her feel that grief. There was no judgment or condemnation. He sent Gehazi on ahead to lay his staff on the boy as he and the broken mother followed behind. We know, as we read this chapter, that the boy was raised from the dead; in fact, he is mentioned in 2 Kings 8 as "the boy the prophet raised from the dead."

I love that God doesn't condemn us for being overwhelmed. He gets us when we are grieving, and He doesn't condemn us. He waits for us, then He helps us. He is present with us and carries us as needed. 

Today, I'll remind myself that God gets my grief, He feels my loss. He understands my overwhelm and I'm not lying when I say, all is well. It's a statement of faith because I know that even though things don't look well or feel well - it's all in His hands. I am in His hands, and He won't throw me away just because I feel broken. I know I can trust Him for one more day, will you join me?

Check out my latest release. Command Your Morning part 2. This 31-day devotional is the second one in my series Command Your Morning. (Yes, I already started on part 3 - and you're gonna love it!) Take a 31-day journey through Psalm 119 as you practice setting your intention to point your heart at God each day. It's available on Kindle and Print. Check it out!

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