Life Restored Ministry, A Ministry of Life's Choices Womens Clinic,Inc.

05/27/2026

I've been wondering a lot lately
about the level of my faith.

Not wondering, really . . .
more discovering.

I talk faith.

I believe faith.

I think I have faith.

Then,
I find myself seated in a pew
at the funeral
of a four month old.

From the angle where I sit,
I can see the tiny casket
resting atop
a green and yellow striped baby afghan.

And, I listen.

And, wonder.

And, make myself face this question
head on.

"Do I really have faith?"

As the lady
seated in front of me
wipes a tear from her eye,
I wipe a continuous stream of them
from my own.

Pew after pew,
eye after eye.
It seems no one here
is untouched
by this heartbreaking loss.

"Faith isn't faith
until it is tested.
It is in times like this
that we stand on our faith
and it carries us through.
It is in times like this
that we discover
the kind of faith we have."

The words of the minister
reach deep into my soul.

I can hardly stand the pain
I feel seated in this place,
in this moment.

It is
overwhelming,
suffocating,
too much.

My eyes keep veering right
and then left;
any direction except
straight ahead
at the reality before us
and the reason we are here.

And, I think of
this precious mother,
this broken father,
these young sisters
and tiny brother.

To suffer such loss.

To bury one
so tiny,
so helpless,
so innocent.

To love God
in spite of
and in the midst of.

To believe without a doubt
that God is good
all the time,
even in times
like this.

Faith.

Do I have it?

Or am I simply spoiled
by the goodness of the Lord?

My life has been an easy one.

God's blessings
have been abundant.
Sorrows, few.

It's easy to have faith
when all is well,
life is happy,
"God is good."

But,
what about when
God's goodness
is overshadowed in heartbreak?

What about the times when
everything falls apart
and nothing makes sense?

What do we do with our God when
our God allows something
into our life
that pulls the rug of our heart
right out from underneath us?

What do we do when
our foundation shakes so violently
we find ourselves grappling
to keep our footing.....
and our faith?

And, I wonder.

And, I hear God's Spirit
asking me
the hardest question of all:

Do you trust me?

And,
the only answer I know,
the only answer I can give,
the only cry of my heart is this:

"Lord, I believe;
help thou mine unbelief."~♥️
~ Mark 9:24

~ Stacy L. Sanchez

( from January 2013)

05/27/2026

05/27/2026

God does some of His greatest work when we finally surrender and let Him. ❤️

04/30/2026

Grief is not the same thing as repentance.

A person can feel sorrow, loss, regret, even deep anguish, and still not turn from the sin that caused it. Scripture makes that plain. There is a sorrow of the world that grieves, but does not lead to life. We see it often. Women mourning the unborn child they murdered, yet still justifying it, still calling it the “right decision,” still saying they would do it again.

True repentance is not just weeping over the outcome, it is confessing the sin. It does not hold onto excuses, it casts them down. It does not say, “it was the right choice,” it says, “I have sinned against God.” It turns away from the sin and turns to Jesus Christ, seeking mercy, not defending the deed.

To grieve a child while still defending the killing of that child is not healing. It is bo***ge. It keeps a person tied to their sin, weighed down with sorrow that never brings peace.

But there is hope.

There is real forgiveness. There is cleansing. There is peace. The blood of Christ is sufficient to wash even this. But it does not come through grief alone. It comes through repentance, through turning from sin and turning to Christ, humbling yourself before Him and submitting to the truth.

You do not find freedom by grieving sin while calling it good. You find freedom when you call it what God calls