Dying He Saved Us

Today is Good Friday. For those who may not know, this is the day Christians commemorate Jesus Christ's crucifixion on the cross. The thought of Jesus dying on the cross for millions of people who rejected Him is something I don't think I will ever fully understand until I get to Heaven. I am such a picture of imperfection and I didn't do anything to deserve redemption, but I am humbled and awestruck by His love for me. 
What I love most about today is the reminder that we serve a God who understands our trials. He was tempted. He struggled. He bled. He knew pain while He was on this earth just like we know pain today. 
We do not serve a God that cannot identify with our heartbreak. 
When I think of heartbreak, obviously I go to our journey of losing our daughter. I prayed to God to save her, to spare her, but I also prayed that ultimately His will would be done. His will was not for her to live a full life by human standards, yet His plan for her life was still carried out. During those weeks of knowing something was wrong and praying that Taylor would live another day, then another day after that, I clung to God more than I ever have in my life. I was so dependent on His guidance and strength. I didn't have the strength on my own to get through it. Through that dependence, I also began to praise God. I praised Him for the miracle that she was and for choosing us as her parents. I still thank God for that every day.
In praising God through the darkness and sadness, He allowed me to see the blessings. Yes our story ended in heartache, but there were innumerable blessings along with it. From getting to name her to hear her heartbeat to share our story, we were so blessed with her. The cool thing is, we don't have to wait for the victory to praise God. We can praise Him in the storm. Had we waited for the victory to praise God in our situation, I'm not sure we would have ever started. To society, there was no victory. There was only death and a sad ending. Had we not given our journey to God, I probably would have seen it that way too. Instead, I see so clearly that there was, in fact, victory. The victory was in her short, precious life. The victory is that she is healed in Heaven. We praise Him in the storm because He is good. We praise Him in the storm because He understands what we are going through more than anyone else can. 
Jesus provided us with such a beautiful example of suffering. We have all endured hardships in this life, and sometimes it feels like we are so alone, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Jesus knew what it meant to hurt on this earth. He knows our pain and our heartbreak, but he died on the cross so many years ago to make sure that suffering wouldn't last forever. Today is about celebrating a gift and about a God who loves us more than we could possibly imagine. 
I hope you all have an amazing Easter weekend. If anyone has any questions about what today and Sunday represent, please email me. I don't claim to be an expert, but I'd love to talk to you or pray for you if you need someone.