Encouragement We Have Received
February 25, 2009 by Audreys · Leave a Comment
I have heard it said many times “God is never early, He is never late, He is always right on time.” That rings true even in relation to this website. It is the quality of responses we receive that matters, not the quantity. However, there are times when we doubt if we are truly helping other parents with this site. It is during those times that we receive an e-mail of encouragement that proves to us that God is at work on this site. When Peter was walking on the water towards Jesus in Matthew 14:31, his faith started to waver as he watched the rushing waves and began to sink and cry out to Jesus to help him. What did Jesus do? “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.”You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
We need to remind ourselves over and over that Jesus is in control, we just need to believe it.
We wanted to share some of the e-mails we received. We hope they will minister to you as they continue to minister to us.
Lamentations
February 1, 2009 by Audreys · 2 Comments
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3: 22-26
When Jeremiah was writing this poetic book, he was feeling a bit alienated by God. He was grieving the loss of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. The destruction of Jerusalem was the result of God’s judgment for the Israelites’ sin. Jeremiah knows this. It was not Jeremiah’s sin that caused the resulting judgment on Jerusalem. He felt this loss very personally though. Even as he grieved, He called out to God. He knew that God is a God of grace and able to restore anything or anyone.
In our situation, we were at first feeling a bit alienated by God as well. Our grief for the loss of our daughter was overwhelming. Our own personal sin did not cause Katelyn to die. This was not an act of judgment by God. We know that. But we also know that we live in a sinful world and the loss of a stillborn baby with no medical explanation is due to an imperfect world. Although that is very hard to accept, we have prayed and received peace from God that we don’t need to know the answer. Knowing she is in Heaven with Him is enough.
Jeremiah’s strong faith through his experience has taught us that even though we have lost our daughter, it is only temporary; Scott and I will one day see her again. Meeting Katelyn with Jesus is our prayer, and through the saving blood of Jesus Christ we know we will.
We have also learned that waiting on the Lord is vital to keeping our hope alive. We will be restored as a family in Heaven one day. Until then, we trust completely in Him. What a great example of waiting and trusting in the Lord that Jeremiah is. It is an example that we try to follow.
God is the light in the midst of the darkness, and our hope is in Him!
