I never heard the phone ring, but my husband’s voice jolted me awake. “Cindy, Cindy, wake up. Answer the phone! Cindy, answer the phone!”

It was 1:30 a.m. Was I dreaming? I wished I was. The message would alter my life forever.bend in the road quote

My oldest sister had just been killed in a car accident. Disbelief, shock and fear entered my mind as unwelcomed guests. What do you do with sudden tragic news?

Questions flooded my mind but I had no answers. How did this happen? Was she really dead or maybe just hurt? Why would God let this happen? The hours that followed were filled with unbelievable sadness and heartache.

I recalled seeing a billboard along a highway: “If I never tell you why, will you still trust me?

Would I still trust God? Could I still trust him? Trust Him to be loving and good in the midst of such pain?

My sister was a breast cancer survivor. As an oncology nurse she had been driving home from a “Seven Levels of Healing” class she was teaching to other cancer patients. She had been married only seven weeks to a man she affectionately referred to as her “Boaz”; the man who had captured and redeemed her heart to love again after her 23-year marriage came to an unwanted, abrupt end.

She was the happiest I had ever seen her. Then it hit me. She died happy. She was cancer free. She had healed from her divorce, renewed old friendships and married a college sweetheart. Not many of us live happy, let alone die happy.

She had a favorite sign that read, “The bend in the road isn’t the end of the road, unless you refuse to take the turn.”

My sister took the turn to trust God with her cancer diagnosis, through her divorce, and in her choice to forgive.

Because of her example, I was able to take the turn to trust God in the midst of my grief.

The morning after her death, I read Psalm 27. Verse 13 gave me hope to trust in the goodness of God despite my painful circumstance. “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Although I cried many tears, I would not grieve as those who have no hope. As Christians, we have the hope of heaven. As sisters, I have precious memories. As her friend, I will be forever grateful she left a legacy of love, forgiveness and trust.

She showed us all how to trust God with the bends in the road.

©2015 Cindy Richardson
For over 20 years, Cindy Richardson has been guiding little kindergarten hearts to love Jesus while mentoring and teaching women’s hearts through Bible study, retreats and speaking engagements. Her desire is to encourage, challenge and inspire women to trust the Father’s heart.

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