Something to Share

I thank You for the bitter things
They've been a friend to grace,
They've driven me from the paths
of ease --
To storm the secret place.

-- Flornece White Willett

Hannah is doing amazingly well considering what her body is fighting against right now. She has come so far in just 24 hours with this pneumonia. Don't get me wrong -- she isn't fine & healthy but she no longer has a monster fever ... thank you, Lord!!! She even went this afternoon to a mini-day-camp (2 hours) at the Children's Inn. It was cake decorating class. You should have seen how proud she was of her rolled out fondant & beautiful cake!! It was a wonderful boost for her emotionally to go do something non-hospital-ish & just be a kid!!!!

At times it REALLY hits me how critically ill Hannah is (like when I count up the days we have been in the hospital or she gets a 106.7 fever!). Other times I am able to just play with Hannah like "isn't this fun?" and "when I follow you to college one day, this is what it will be like when I live in your dorm with you" kind of attitude.

I have truly just tried to make the absolute best of all of this. What else can I do? Really. Having a bad attitude is NOT going to change this situation & it is not going to make Hannah well. Having a bad attitude is not going to make my heart stop breaking over missing Lily. Truly, it has just been God's amazing grace each & every day.

Has this been an easy road? Heck, no!

Has this been the most heart-wrenching, draining, exhausting, unreal & unbelievable time in my life -- absolutely!

But what I wanted to share was what I read the other day from "31 Days of Praise" by Ruth Myers. It encouraged my heart so much because, most days, especially these days of life in the hospital, my desire is for a trouble-free & pain-free life.

I hope the following excerpt also encourages your heart:

"Father, I'm so delighted that You are both loving and sovereign, and that You cause all things to work together for good to those who love You, to those who are called according to Your purpose. So I thank You for each disturbing or humbling situation in my life, for each breaking or cleansing process You are allowing, for each problem or hindrance, for each thing that triggers in me anxiety or anger or pain. And I thank You in advance for each disappointment, each demanding duty, each pressure, each interruption that may arise in the coming hours and days.
Thank You that each difficulty is an opportunity to see You work ... that in Your time You will bring me out to a place of abundance. I rejoice that You plan to enrich and beautify me through each problem, each conflict, each struggle .. that through them You expose my weaknesses and needs, my hidden sins, my self-centeredness (and especially my self-reliance and pride). Thank you that you use trials to humble me and perfect my faith and produce in me the quality of endurance ... that they prepare the soil of my heart for the fresh new growth in godliness that You and I both long to see in me ... and that my momentary troubles are producing for me an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, as I keep my eyes focused on You. I'm grateful that You look beyond my superficial desire for a trouble-free life; instead, You fulfill my deep-down desire to glorify You, enjoy Your warm fellowship, and become more like Your Son. " -- 31 Days of Praise, pg 80 (day 18) by Ruth Myers


God is good. No matter what. No matter how this road turns, no matter how many valleys or how many times I tell Him I don't understand any of this, He is faithful & He is good. Always.