It was a year ago yesterday that Jennifer and I were taking Jana to Akron Children's Hospital...or a year ago this morning that I was driving back to the hospital (after staying a night at my brother's house in the Cleveland area) to see how my wife and daughter were doing after a night in ICU.
As I was thinking about all of this last night and again this morning, I realize once again just how much I have to be grateful for! In fact, last night I told my daughter that this is a special day that we will never forget - of course, she replied 'oh yeah, real special...the day we found out I have diabetes'. But, I shared with her that this will always be a special day to mom and dad as we remember God's faithfulness to us in the midst of difficulty. The past couple of weeks we have been studying the book of Nehemiah in our small group on Wednesday night. A verse that stood out is Nehemiah 9:33 which says, "yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly". This verse summarized a whole chapter of confession. There couldn't be a more genuine and accurate confession for God's people than this. God has always been faithful to us (sounds like a good song)- even though we have sinned and rebelled. It is God's great mercy that He has not made an end of us or forsaken us, but instead has been gracious and merciful!
My story is full of my failures, disobedience and sinfulness...God's story is about His mercy, grace and faithfulness. Thankfully through Christ and the gift of salvation, His story has become my story! Now my life is no longer marked by my sins and failures (although they still exist!) but instead is marked by His mercy and grace!
So as a family, these couples of dates towards the end of February will always be reminders to us of God's faithfulness. While they include some difficulties...especially for Jana...we will not forget God's sovereign care in the midst of the difficulties.
We are so grateful for Jana's good health and life. She is a gift from God to us as are all of our children. May we be good stewards of these precious gifts that God entrusts to us!
If you would like to read my initial post from the hospital last year, you can find it at http://christinu.blogspot.com/2010_02_21_archive.html
Here is a great song and some good pictures to go along with it:
1 comment:
I am always encouraged by reminders like this, or "reflections of grace". God's Word is full of such reminders. Just as God uses the truth of His Word to turn our gaze back on the Cross, it's exciting when we can (as parents) use our personal history to remind our children (and ourselves!) of God's amazing grace in our lives and families!
Post a Comment