Dear Friends and Family,
In James 1:24 it says
that we should…“Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything.”
I’m not sure about you but I have found these verses very hard to
apply in my life. It truly goes against our human flesh to have joy
in the midst of difficulties and trials. God has really been showing
me how He wants to do a supernatural work in my heart and life as I
allow Him to develop this in my life.
For many years as the children were facing all their health issues,
I experienced God’s grace but I still felt an element of stress and
intensity as I tried to figure out what I could do to change the
problem and alleviate their suffering. I believe we need to do what
we can, but it is wrong to feel stressed in any situation or
circumstance. I’ve heard that stress is the gap between what we
expect and what we are experiencing. When we are feeling “stressed
out” it is because we have unrealistic, unhealthy and self-serving
expectations. We are the ones responsible for creating unreasonable
expectations and so we are the only ones able to stop our stress.
If I am experiencing
stress, it is because I believe we deserve to have healthy
children and an easy life, when in reality we do not deserve
anything. All that we have is a gift and a blessing from
God. God has also been showing me that fear is a lie and a spirit
from the enemy. I do not have to be bound by it. Fear causes us to
believe that our trials are all bad for us and we cannot overcome
them. Life is hopeless! When we have fear we need to recognize
that we are thinking negative thoughts or beliefs.
Last week I saw such a beautiful example of how God wants His
children to trust Him and wants to take our fears away. We left our
house at 3:30 Monday morning and drove a few hours to the hospital
in Charlotte, NC. Alisha had her two year routine heart
catheterization and heart biopsy. She needed to be at the hospital
by 6:00 and was able to be discharged again at 4:30 p.m. She had
been very fearful about her procedure and for the last few weeks
would begin to cry whenever we talked about it. It is a rather
scary feeling when you know what they’ll be doing and also to lay on
the table and put the gas mask over your mouth and nose and allow
them to sedate you. After all the preliminaries were done and we
were waiting for them to get Alisha to take her down to the cath
lab, she pulled out a little devotional book and started reading
about Queen Esther and the courage she had. After that, she prayed
that God would give her courage, like Esther had, to do what God was
asking her to do and to help her be strong. She did so much better
than we anticipated and we saw a trust and calmness only God could
give. Alisha’s heart is doing excellent and they found no rejection
and completely clean arteries. PTL!
Austin also had a heart EKG, echo cardiogram, and lab work done last
week and saw the transplant Cardiologist. His heart function has
improved a little more and the heart rate has also come down a
little. These are all positive steps. Because of the 75-80 percent
blockage they found earlier, they will need to continue to keep a
close eye on him and re-biopsy him in a few months. We appreciate
your continued prayers on his behalf.
The rest of us are all
doing well and we are enjoying being finished with our home
schooling for this year. We are looking forward to the rest of our
summer. I am so thankful for the peace and purpose God gives to our
lives as we continue to grow in Him.
Remember, through any
trial or stressful situation that you are facing, God has a filter
that each situation needs to go through. His filter points us to
the purpose He has for us. I pray that you would find the treasures
in your trials and joy in your journey!
We thank God for each of
you.
Cindy—
