I recently received a copy of the book Lazarus Awakening ~ Finding Your Place in the Heart of God, by Joanna Weaver. You may recognize her as the author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. While there were moments that my attention strayed from this newest book, the moments that did grab my attention were profound. Just having lost my husband less than a year ago to cancer, sometimes I admit I don't always feel completely loved by God. I have days where I feel somewhat abandoned, alone in this valley. However, Joanna uses her writing to tenderly remind readers how much our Creator cares, even when things look utterly dismal. My faith became sight when reading her interpretation of "Come and See."
"Where have you laid him?" Jesus asked Martha and Mary through His tears (John 11:34).
"Come and see, Lord," they replied. Then together they went to Lazarus's tomb.
Oh how I wish we could grasp the immensity and emotion of this tender exchange and what it means for us today.
Where have you laid your pain? Jesus asks us tenderly. Where do you keep all your shattered hopes and dreams? Where have you laid the part of you that died when you failed or were abandoned, forgotten, or betrayed? Where are you entombed and enslaved, hemmed in, shut down, and closed off?
Come and see, Lord.
That's the only response we need to give. Come and see.
Thank you Joanna for this reminder that when the tomb is shut and dark, and the grave clothes are wound and bound, that Jesus is coming. He's on His way to come and see, and in perfect time will be there to call my name, to wake me from my sleep, and to restore me to life.
If this speaks to you as it did to me, then begin with Chapter 1. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.