It's that time again...a time to be stretched, a time to increase faith in our sovereign God,
a time to release, let go, and love a little harder as we anticipate another round of heart surgeries.
{these 2}
On Monday, Bea will undergo another minor exploratory surgery to evaluate her progress since her last major open heart surgery (Glenn) in March of 2015, and also to assess the plan for her next major open heart surgery (Fontan) this fall/winter. Although this is intended to be a one day event and though invasive, it is minor...the last time Bea had this intervention we almost lost her. Her little heart didn't handle it well, so we do not take this surgery lightly. We will be fervent in prayer and intently focused on Christ.
Eyes on Him. Don't look down.
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."
Isaiah 26:3-4
These are the words that keep me calm when sands might otherwise shift. These are the words that keep my feet planted firmly on the Rock, a sure foundation we can trust when things might otherwise get wobbly. Lord, please hold us near. Please hold Bea near.
Please grow all of our dependence upon you through this time of trusting in your goodness in all things.
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
Monday is another big day. It is a part of the plan for Bea's life that we would be able to intervene in this way, by God's grace. We thank Him for insurance and the opportunity to be stretched. We thank Him for knowing the outcome of all things and for His wisdom. We are always asking God to give us opportunities to serve Him, to give outwardly even a fraction of what He has poured out for us.
So, here we go...mission trip for the one underway.
Jesus cares for the one.
"[Jesus] told them this parable: 'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.'"
Luke 15:3-7
Yes, Jesus cares for the one.
Even as I type, I realize the opportunities today in my home to share the gospel with my children, to invest in their lives and their souls. I think of them each as individuals...each of them one...each of them in need of a Savior, their Shepherd. I think of how very much I long to lay my life down to serve Christ and out of my devotion to Him, to serve those in need and it hits me...there are (international even) opportunities right here in my day, right now. I can invest in the one. I can reach out to those in need in an ongoing way. It's easy to miss it sometimes, when the giving is so interwoven amidst the natural fibers of motherhood. But nevertheless, there it is.
So I offer me. I offer our family and our comforts. I offer my husband and my daughter and I pour out trust in the God who is trustworthy in all things saying, "Here I am, Lord. Send me. Spend me. Use me."
"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'
Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me.'"
a time to release, let go, and love a little harder as we anticipate another round of heart surgeries.
On Monday, Bea will undergo another minor exploratory surgery to evaluate her progress since her last major open heart surgery (Glenn) in March of 2015, and also to assess the plan for her next major open heart surgery (Fontan) this fall/winter. Although this is intended to be a one day event and though invasive, it is minor...the last time Bea had this intervention we almost lost her. Her little heart didn't handle it well, so we do not take this surgery lightly. We will be fervent in prayer and intently focused on Christ.
Eyes on Him. Don't look down.
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."
Isaiah 26:3-4
These are the words that keep me calm when sands might otherwise shift. These are the words that keep my feet planted firmly on the Rock, a sure foundation we can trust when things might otherwise get wobbly. Lord, please hold us near. Please hold Bea near.
Please grow all of our dependence upon you through this time of trusting in your goodness in all things.
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
Monday is another big day. It is a part of the plan for Bea's life that we would be able to intervene in this way, by God's grace. We thank Him for insurance and the opportunity to be stretched. We thank Him for knowing the outcome of all things and for His wisdom. We are always asking God to give us opportunities to serve Him, to give outwardly even a fraction of what He has poured out for us.
So, here we go...mission trip for the one underway.
Jesus cares for the one.
"[Jesus] told them this parable: 'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.'"
Luke 15:3-7
Yes, Jesus cares for the one.
Even as I type, I realize the opportunities today in my home to share the gospel with my children, to invest in their lives and their souls. I think of them each as individuals...each of them one...each of them in need of a Savior, their Shepherd. I think of how very much I long to lay my life down to serve Christ and out of my devotion to Him, to serve those in need and it hits me...there are (international even) opportunities right here in my day, right now. I can invest in the one. I can reach out to those in need in an ongoing way. It's easy to miss it sometimes, when the giving is so interwoven amidst the natural fibers of motherhood. But nevertheless, there it is.
So I offer me. I offer our family and our comforts. I offer my husband and my daughter and I pour out trust in the God who is trustworthy in all things saying, "Here I am, Lord. Send me. Spend me. Use me."
(Happy girl...Lord, please be with our Bea.)
"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'
Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me.'"
