Saturday, October 6, 2007

Defining moments...

I had an opportunity this weekend to do some reflection on defining moments in my life. One such moment sticks out and I thought I'd blog about it because that's what I do now. When I was a little girl, around 7, my dad was at the Mayo with a blood count down to 4. We didn't know if he was going to live or die. My mom said we were kneeling at her bedside praying and I told God that if my daddy died, that Jesus would be my daddy. I don't remember praying this prayer, my mom often reminds me of it. I'm struck by a faith that I don't remember, but just had. Fast forward to when I was 17. My dad was again faced with a terrible circumstance (all because of his crohn's disease) and he was heading into emergency surgery once again. I'll never forget his last words to me, he said, "Always remember that no matter what happens, God is sovereign." This was a defining moment. It helped to lay a foundation of faith. As I've been thinking about that, I am overwhelmed that God in his sovereignty, was preparing me for my future faith tests.

The big ones were when I lost two babies to miscarriage, a couple months after that, I had emergency surgery and they diagnosed me with crohn's. Four years later I was told that my baby girl had anencephaly and she would not live beyond my womb. Three years later, I was told that my little 3 year old had autism. And now, my sweet dad has cancer. I know other people suffer much greater than this. I had a wonderful childhood with all the love that I needed. I am not trying to make it sound like "poor me". I am truly in awe of a God who goes before the suffering, prepares us for it when we don't even know it.

I still don't get the why...and I don't need to know. I'm fighting to look past my pain and look at the God who is faithful. To have a deeper trust. A deep knowing that no matter what happens, He will never leave me. I am not alone. And it is all part of his plan. And that Jesus can fill the void when my dad is no longer here. This somehow feels like one of the greatest tests yet. I just love him so much. I feel like I'm losing my safety net.

Jesus, grant me the faith that I had when I was 7.

4 comments:

Reegz said...

Praise God for His strength in these hard times-God will be faithful to you! Praying for you at this time. :o( My little sasser was born the day the Lord took my dad home because of cancer. It was the most joyous and sad day of my life and I praise God for carrying me through it. Thanks for sharing your heart.

Katie R. said...

I love your blogs. Thank you for sharing your feelings and thoughts. God is pretty cool, huh?

Kara Jo said...

I echo the others in saying thanks for sharing your heart.

My heart hurts for you. I can't imagine the pain you must feel.

Thanks for being honest in your struggles to put one foot in front of the other as you place your faith in His hands.

Carla said...

Love you.