Everybody always likes the 4th of July holiday. After all, we are celebrating the Independence of our country…right? Some people have birthdays on this day so that gives them something extra special to celebrate. By the way, happy birthday Nancy! I love you!
The 4th of July holiday holds something different for me. Fifteen years ago today, John and I were at Pitt Memorial Hospital with Nicholas. We had been agonizing for months; wondering what was wrong with our precious little baby. Due to my suspicions as a mother of what he may have, we had been through several doctors and were feeling helplessly at the end of our ropes. We could see that Nicholas was getting worse and no one would listen to us. We were not in a relationship with Jesus Christ at the time so we had no peace…no comfort.
After 6 months of trying to get a doctor that would test Nicholas for cystic fibrosis (cf), Dr. Taylor came in the room at 1pm on July 4th, 1994 and told us what I knew all along. Nicholas had cystic fibrosis. See what I didn’t realize was that even though we were not acknowledging that God was in our lives, He was there all along. He had been with me my whole life preparing me for what we were about to go through as a family.
Most of you know that my mama and daddy had been foster parents while I was growing up and we had Amie with us for a while. She had cf and we learned all about the disease, medications, and physical therapy with her. You can read more here (You should start at the bottom and work your way up. Later, as an adult, one of my first jobs was with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. God had been preparing me for this day. He had been with me through all of it and He is still with me today.
As I look back and see the steps along the roads of my life so far, I feel blessed to be able to see the proof of what my mama and my grandmother had always told me – “everything happens for a reason.” For whatever reason, God has chosen me and my family to fulfill a task for him. We may never know what it is. We may never know who it is for. We may be doing it now. It may take years, months, a day, an hour, a moment…All I know is that where ever we go He is with us. Whatever we go through, He is carrying us. Whatever is in store for us tomorrow, He has it under control.
As you celebrate this 4th of July, be thankful that we have an independent country. Pray that our country can stay this way and recover from its burdens. Be thankful for your family. Be thankful for your health. Celebrate your life. I thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon our family. Things could always be worse than what it is. We are thankful for the time we have been given. Tell your family you love them today. Reach out to the ones you don’t see everyday and tell them you love them too. Celebrate every moment.
Happy 4th of July everybody. Thanks for checking in today.
Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor.
He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.
Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.
He didn’t know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn’t know how the stove worked! Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor.. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.
And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon’s eyes. All he’d wanted to do was something good, but he’d made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him.
Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process!
That’s how God deals with us… We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can’t stand our job, or our health goes sour.
Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can’t think of anything else to do. That’s when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can’t stop trying to ‘make pancakes’ for God or for others. Sooner or later we’ll get it right, and then they’ll be glad we tried…
With everything our family goes through, it is not hard to count and be thankful for our blessings. I’m not perfect so obviously there are days when I don’t think about my blessings as much as I should. When Nicholas is in the hospital up at UNC, like he is now, those blessings are more prominant in my mind than ever.
I struggle with leaving Nicholas alone in the hospital for long lengths of time. Our time is so precious with him and I am very over protective. I also know that things can happen unexpectedly and I am too anal to want to miss it.
I was supposed to leave here on Tuesday night so I could go to work on Wednesday and return Friday afternoon. The teacher and my supervisor told me I shouldn’t worry; that I needed to be here with Nick, so I stayed. I do have to go home Thursday for a doctors appointment that I cannot miss so I will be leaving him Thursday and will return on Friday. UGH!!! But I feel better that it will only be a day.
I say all this because of what I see up here. I am so blessed that I have the option to be able to stay. There is a little baby here that has had to stay without her mom. She is an only child. Her mom is alone because her husband is in Iraq. The mom works fulltime and she is going to school.
Over the years, there have been children, and babies, that have been left here alone, but it was the choice of the parent. Some parents choose to leave and stay at the Ronald McDonald House. I just don’t understand. You have parents here – like Christian – who would love to be able to stay with her baby all night, and then you have those parents that don’t seem to care.
People, please, if you have a healthy child, be thankful. If they have an illness, like Nicholas and Lily, be thankful that it is not worse than it is. It could ALWAYS be worse. Count your blessings. Be thankful for what the Lord has given you.
There is a reason for everything I always say, so I guess there is a reason why I have to see these things. Maybe I have to see these things to be able to remember that I need to count my blessings – to be thankful for what I have been given. I am who I am because of the life I am living. I would hate to see what my life would be like if I didn’t have the trials that I have. It is because of the trials in my life, and the fact I know that I have my Savior to hold me along the way that I am able to endure. Just my thoughts for the day…
Genesis 22:2 Then God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Kill him there and offer him as a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
Genesis 22:8-13 …So Abraham and his son went on together and came to the place God had told him about. Abraham built an altar there. He laid the wood on it and then tied up his son Isaac and laid him on the wood on the altar. Then Abraham took his knife and was about to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord said, “Abraham! Abraham!” Abraham answered, “Yes.” The angel said, ”Do not kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you trust God and that you have not kept your son, your only son, from me.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a male sheep caught in a bush by its horns. So Abraham went and took the sheep and killed it. He offered it as a whole burnt offering to God, and his son was saved.
Oh, the faith and obedience of Abraham… We have problems today just being obedient in the word or turning from sin; remaining faithful to Him. Trusting that he is in control and He knows what is best for us. Trusting that He will take care of us. Abraham was asked to give God the ultimate sacrifice; his only son, Isaac. And what did he do? He trusted in the Lord and he was obedient to His commands. What would we have done? What would I have done? I would hope I could have done what Abraham did. I thank God I don’t have to do that. My sin is paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. He has kept His end of the bargain. All I have to do is keep mine.
Sunday, in church, Pastor Roy finished the book of Galations. I love how he does that – teaching from a book in the Bible. He talked about reaping what we sow and how when we sow in the flesh, we will reap in the flesh, but if we sow in the Spirit, we will reap in the Spirit. It was a great message. He talked about Paul’s message that there is a Principle, a Precept, and a Promise that we should follow and believe in. Paul was telling us how to live in the Grace of God.
The Principle: To remain faithful. Now that we have been told and given good things, we should share those good things. We need to remain on track.
The Precept: We have a partnership in life. Because the teacher has taught us the truth, we have a relationship with that teacher and should share our lives.
The Promise: Eternal Life. Paul gives us the promise of eternal life with God. We should be willing to share our treasures and gifts from God with everyone, especially those in our family of believers. We should not give up – we should not grow weary.
When I was growing up, (Roy talked about this too) my mama always told us that “we reap what we sow” and I always took it in a negative way, meaning that if you do bad things, you will reap the consequences. While I believe that is true, I have come to learn that when we sow good, we reap good as well. I think a great example of this is our children. When we teach them about God’s truths and about His purpose for our lives, we reap the benefits of that teaching in that we see them grow and mature in Christ.
When we sow a good walk with God, we reap a great reward in Heaven. Believing in Him, having faith in Him, developing a relationship with Him is sowing good seeds in life.
9 And He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” Paul’s response followed with saying “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
