Thanks for the thread tag. That's exactly what we did for our service too
. It was and is always awesome to hear of God's overwhelming goodness.
You know we'll never be able to articulate how good God is but here's one of my 2011 testimonies I feel led to share. In the fall of 2010 DD#1 gave birth to a son, Jeremiah, who was a few weeks preemie but in excellent health otherwise. He got to come home after about 2 weeks at the hospital. When he was 3 weeks old he stopped breathing at some point in his sleep. DD ran into my room frantically. I immediately started CPR while she called paramedics. He started to breathe again and was hungry
.
The medics arrived, checked him out, and found no abnomalities. He went to our family pediatrician the next day where he was throughly examined again but nothing was amiss. Wednesday night during bible study, God gave a dear sister a word for us concerning Jeremiah which we heeded immediately.
During the week many prayers went forth along with words of affirmation and he was annointed several times. On Monday morning he turned 1 month old. I was awakened again by DD#1 rushing into my room screams of "God please not again!" He stopped breathing once more. This time despite my efforts to revive him, he did not seem to respond. I'd just heard them up a little more than an hour ago for an early morning feeding. I was continually praying the entire time.
As the ambulance sped off towards the local hospital DD and I notified family members and made a quick dash for the car and the hospital. An hour later the medical staff walked into the family waiting room to tell us that Jeremiah had passed despite their best efforts.
I remember collapsing onto a little end table of sorts and lamp before dissolving into gut wrenching sobs. We had just gone shopping the day before and bought all of these cute outfits. Mentally I had all of these plans of sitting in the stands at his sporting events cheering for him and me telling him not to date this girl, me being escorted in at his wedding, taking cookies to his school bake sale, his 1st tooth, etc-all gone in a flash. I had to tell my parents and other family the horrible news. I posted about it a few days afterward here asking for prayers.
Even though I couldn't/can't understand why he was/is gone and don't believe God is behind premature deaths of that nature (think of those pretty poems about God needing flowers, new stars or new angels etc
erplexed )I made a decision right there to stand
firmly on the word of God.
I knew that I knew that I KNEW this is where the rubber meets the road.
I knew- that all things are not a part of God's perfect will but even in those circumstances he can and will work them out for my good
cause I love him and I have been called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
I knew-
Also from Romans 8
35
Who (or what)shall separate(me) us from the (perfect, everlasting) love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38
For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate (me) us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I kept God's word in my mouth as much as possible. Especially these passages here.
Psalm 34
1
I will bless the LORD at
all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psa 23:3 He
restoreth my soul:
And this here-
Psalm 121
1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Never thought SIDS would've have hit so close to home. Never thought I'd have to watch my DD suffer in such a way and not be able to fix it for her:hero:. It was as if we had been eviscerated with a rusty, blunt, object. I knew I had to keep my eyes on God. I knew he loved us, saw us, was intimately integrated in our situation no matter how many tears fell.
I knew weeping was temporary and that God's joy was our strength.
We pushed on with his help. Many trips to the cemetary have ensued but God has kept our
minds.
No one turned to drugs, alcohol, had medical problems as a result of or anything of the like and we will not either. Why? B/c I know that this life is but a stop on a much larger journey.
I know that if I live to see my 150th b'day one day the real me will leave this cafe au lait suit I'm in. When I do I'll have one more person I want to see again
. So, until then I am so
grateful for all of the experiences I have had in life. I am learning to
count it all joy.
2 Corinthians 5
1For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon,
that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
7(For we walk by faith, not by sight
8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
So, all of that to say God is with us. #nomatterwhat
We lost way too much weight, suffered hair loss, let the houskeeping go, laughed cried, and loved on each other but we never let go of God's hand. My walk continues in 2012
but I know I'll never have to go it alone.