I was tired and moody—and in despair. 

I was about to sign the contract to sell our home. My dear husband of 55 years had died a few months earlier after losing his battle against cancer.

Soon after his death I realised that I could not go on living in our home with all I would have to do: maintenance, gardening in summer and snow shovelling in winter, carrying wood for the fireplaces and so on. 

I should have been grateful for actually finding a buyer even before the house was advertised for sale and at a time when buying and selling houses was almost impossible. But I felt bad—even a little guilty—for selling the home we had shared for all these years.

I had not had time to read I Dag, the Norwegian edition of The Upper Room, the morning before I left for the solicitors. But when I returned home, I saw the opened magazine on the kitchen table and read the words above from Isaiah 43:19. 

My feelings of despair eased. God did not tell me to forget my husband. He did not forbid me to think back on all the good memories with joy. Rather, he invited me to go on with my life with new strength. God is near, in both good and bad times.

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, we thank you for all we have received from you—especially good memories and a loving family. Amen