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"The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' " -Ezekiel 37:1
I have a friend who is pregnant with her third child, she works full-time, her husband works full-time, and he is trying to get his master's degree. They are both in the medical field, so they don't get holidays off - their children will be staying with family while they work for two weeks and their daycare is closed, they will see their children for only one day around Christmas.
Can these dry bones live?
I have a friend who made it through a divorce as a broken woman. She is trying to make it in a new town with no car, and has to pay for a taxi to go anywhere, even to get to church. She is constantly apologizing, as if she takes up space. Additionally, her mother is in severe late stages of Alzheimer's disease, on good days she can still recognize her daughter but there are less and less good days. She teaches first graders in a poor school district and had one little boy crying in class because his mother was deported.
Can these dry bones live?
I have a friend who is a strong woman of God, and she and her very faithful husband have wanted children for years and years. Instead, this year, she got a cancer diagnosis. She lost her father to cancer years ago, and her medical news brought up her worst fears and her past trauma. They also recently had to move because her seasonal affective disorder was so bad that they couldn't thrive where her husband had a job.
Can these dry bones live?
I have a friend who lost a dear one in her inner circle of companions earlier this year due to gang violence. On his birthday, as they were getting ready to remember him, another friend was killed in the same manner. Upon hearing the news, overcome with grief, a third friend died by suicide. In addition, her boyfriend found out his son was diagnosed with autism - the child has never spoken a word and is nearly four years old. She works two jobs, and her family depends on her income. She will not get to see her two sons until January.
CAN THESE DRY BONES LIVE GOD?!?
There is a great darkness that comes in the Christmas season. Evil loves to tear families and friends apart, and bring tragedy. And the Advent season holds grief of its own. For centuries, Israel was oppressed and forsaken. They were taken to a land not their own, and the face of God was turned against them. They hoped for a Savior, every day, every month, every year, every generation - but none came.
Can these dry bones live?
On the news, we see corruption, children torn from families, we see catastrophic weather events become the norm instead of the exception, and there is violence, brokenness, indignity, racism, all forms of malice covered in hatred every direction we look. The innocent cry for mercy, but justice seems infinitely far away.
Can these dry bones live?
Can these dry bones live?
Can these dry bones live?
(In a whisper) Can these dry bones live?
If you are covered in suffering, you are not alone. Please reach out, and we will share our sufferings together. Jesus was a man of sorrow, and sometimes you need an entire book just called "Lamentations".
Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Look upon us God, and have mercy.
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