Saturday, February 26, 2011

God is Faithful

Update:  When walking with a cane on grass, I tend to hold on to someone's arm for dear life to keep balanced and upright.  Last week, at a Sunday School party, I was able to walk on the grass successfully with the walker.  Pretty exciting!

On the morning of my doctor’s appointment in May, 2001, when I found out the results that revealed that I had MS, I remember having 3 specific prayer requests.


1  No matter what we found out, I wanted to be on God's side.  I knew I would need him now more than ever.

2  I still wanted God to use me to help make a difference for His Kingdom.

3  I also asked Him to please allow the way I acted and reacted, after the diagnosis and in the years to follow, to show our sons that what we had taught them about God's love, faithfulness, and provision is what I truly believed.

Chad's recent trip to Senegal, Africa was another reminder of God's continued faithfulness and answer to prayer on this journey.

Chad recently returned from a mission trip to Senegal, with his church.  This was the 17th trip they have made to this village in Africa.  The participants send daily reports home and the pastor forwards them to family, friends, and church members.  On this particular day,  the Bible story was about Mary and Martha after Lazarus died.

Excerpt from Chad's report:
                "Another major theme that was addressed was that God’s plans are much better than our own even when we do not see it at first.  There are many other things that we talked about.  Then one man spoke up and said “We know all these things now, how can we put them into action?”  We were able to talk about ways for a little bit but it was still staying abstract so I told them about how my mom has MS and that it is not what my plan would be.  I told them that my mom was great at serving other people and showing them love by doing things for them, but now she has had to learn to let people do things for her.  Through this, people have seen my dad care for my mom and have been encouraged by their marriage.  They have also seen her faith in God in a difficult time and their faith has been strengthened.  Though this is not what we would have wanted, we see how God has used it for His Glory and my family is encouraged by that.  I also shared that there was a new treatment that has helped her get a little better and we have been able to thank God for providing that.  The group there was able to see through this example what it means to have faith in a difficult time like Martha did.

I Corinthians 1:9
God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 comments:

  1. Debbie, that is a beautiful reminder that God is in control and how he uses our hurts to bring glory to Him. You have laid a beautiful foundation for your family and I'm strengthened by your story. Thank you for sharing the good and the bad.

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  2. So beautiful. God is using you and your testimony!

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