I thought instead of writing about our girl’s condition I would just share some encouragement links that I have used along with devotionals and bible study to get me to a place of acceptance with whatever God has planned for us. I wish I could tell you that I am 100% percent confident that we will be able to handle without sadness whatever comes our way, but I can’t say that with honesty. I still deeply hope for healing, I am hoping that we arrive on Wednesday and all scans show that the last two sets were wrong, but if that doesn’t happen my belief in God will not change, and I will accept the path He has laid out. I may feel sadness but my thankfulness for the salvation He gifted me will not change. I will still try to know Him and make Him known. I WILL still follow Him and sing His praises. I will let it be well with my soul.
God can make beauty out of ashes, He can deliver redemption in sorrow, and He can provide glory out of pain.
If you want some encouragement I ask you to read the below personal accounts of God in people’s life, each account is a different way of God creating beauty from the ashes. So many people in the midst of pain leave God or hide from Him, each account below shows people growing closer to Him and finding faith, healing, and hope in the sight of despair.
Beautiful Shea is a blog about how two sisters have come to a redeeming relationship with Christ after the sudden death of their oldest sister. Their sister was healed of one of the most fatal ovarian cancers to then pass away a couple months later of a brain tumor. All of the blog is worth your time, but if you only read the first entry from April 21st, 2017 to feel the all-consuming desire for God through one of the sisters, her faith journey is inspiring, uplifting, and makes me want to read it over and over because of the joy she has found in her heart for God.
Love for Lacey is a Facebook community page following a woman with brain cancer. She has found such amazing faith in her diagnosis and she sees God everywhere in her path. Her words are inspiring and are a truth testament to being faithful and desiring God beyond this world. Her words entitled “Lacey’s Bible Study Talk//4-26-17” is worth your time, they are more than worth your time, it is infinitely worthy of you reading.
I journeyed through the seven day devotional created from this book , man oh man how it strengthens me to see someone (just as Lacey from above) journeying through what I can not even imagine, yet leaning all understanding on God. I urge you to do the devotional and then read the book. You can get the bible app here.
The next few are cleft specific, I have looked at these words over and over for different reasons, this one the parents were told by three doctors and two ultrasound techs that their son would have a cleft lip and palate and through prayer that diagnosis was overturned and found to be false upon additional scans. I read this over and over for hope that God is the ultimate physician and regardless of what we are told by doctors God can change the outcome at any time if it is within His will.
I do not really worry so much about the social media aspect, but I relate to this woman on so many levels, I have oh so many fears of what people will say to us out in public, what will be said to Vivianne as she enrolls in school and grows and journeys through this life.
I read Noah’s Journey over and over and I have watched His Miracle Smile probably a dozen times to let myself know that if Vivianne is born with a cleft, it will be ok. She will endure hardships we didn’t expect but God will be with us all, holding our hands through each step. If she endures this she will still smile, laugh, run, jump, dance, and play, she will only have the knowledge of what she endured through our memory, she will not remember most of this and she will live and that is something to be oh so thankful for.
I read all of the above over and over as a reminder that in times of trial I need to reach out and hold tight to God just as in times of great fortune. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. No matter our journey He is with us and I will believe in Him.