By: Nicole Conti
If we haven’t met before, a little bit about my connection to Inheritance of Hope is that my family was served back in 2011 when I was 7 years old. My dad had stage IV cancer at the time. He was cancer free for several years after that, but In 2023, he had a recurrence of cancer.
In February, the doctors became concerned with a benign brain tumor my dad had, as he was showing signs of seizures. During this time, I carried a really heavy sadness, and I had a lot of uncertainty. I would think, “What if the cancer is back again? What if he needs surgery? And if so, would he ever be the same?”
During this hard time, I found that I had to remind myself of who God is. One of the things I learned in this time is this: God is kind!
Sometimes I think about all that God has done in our story, and I’m like, “Wow. God is kind.” And then I also think about the really hard parts of our story and even in those moments, God was still kind. And that’s what I want to talk about today: God is kind, not just when life is good, but He’s also kind in those really hard moments too. Because that’s when He shows us that He takes care of His people.
My favorite passage in scripture is Psalm 23, which is one I always go back to in hard times. God often will teach me something new about His character through these verses:
“[1] The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. [3] He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. [4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. [5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. [6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
I want to point your attention to these two words in verse 4… “Even though.” “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”—that statement is a clear sign that David was aware of the kindness of His shepherd even though he walked through the valley.
When you look at verse 5, he says that the Lord prepares a table for him and anoints him… Yet this all happens in the presence of his enemies. I recently attended a women’s conference where the teacher talked about how David was still in the valley, life wasn’t easy, and yet, God intentionally cared for David.
David pointed himself to the truth about God: He is the Good Shepherd, and He is kind. David saw that even though he walked through the valley, even though he was in the presence of his enemies, God cared for him, God was present with him, God provided for him, and God did this all in His kindness through the darkest valley.
In my story, I’ve seen that God is kind mostly through Scripture, provision, and through His people! You have an opportunity this weekend to show up for a family, and point them to the Lord through serving them.
Something I want to encourage you with today: this weekend as families walk through the darkest valley, you might be part of the reason a family can confidently say, “even though terminal-illness is hard, God is kind.” As we meet these families where they are—just like Jesus does—we are an example to these families of who He is. Through the way we care for these families, God makes His love clear. It’s a beautiful way to show families the gospel in action!
Nicole Conti is an Inheritance of Hope volunteer. She attended a Legacy Retreat® with her family in 2011 when she was just 7 years old. She originally shared this devotional with the St. Louis Legacy Retreat® team in September 2026.