Do you believe God is good, even when life isn't? Mary did, and I gasped in amazement the day I heard her pastor share her story at her funeral.

Mary had been a widow—very poor, and housebound because of her ailments in old age. But like the psalmist, she had learned to praise God amid her hardships. Over the years she had come to savor with deep gratitude every good thing He sent her way.

Her pastor had occasionally visited her at home. Because of her crippling pain, it took her a long time to inch her way to the door to let him in. So he would call on the telephone and tell her that he was on his way and what time he would get there. Mary would then begin the slow, arduous journey to the door, reaching it about the time he arrived. Without fail, she would greet him with these triumphant words: "God is good!"

I've observed that those who speak most often about God's goodness are usually those with the most trials. They focus on the Lord's mercy and grace rather than on their troubles, and in so doing they taste His goodness. Mary's example not only challenges us to "taste and see," but also to taste and say that the Lord is good—even when life isn't.  — Joanie Yoder