He makes all things work together for His good

Our hearts have been heavy all day with the news of extended family members, Courtney & Jason Murphy, who welcomed today their baby girl, Clara Elyse, today at only 25 weeks of pregnancy.  She weighs less than 1.2 pounds.  Thoughts swarm about what the future holds for her life, and the long journey she and her parents have ahead of them.

The reality of this story hits all too close to home for our extended family.  Justin's oldest brother and wife lost their son, Cameron, at only 9 days old to illness.  Justin's youngest brother, Joseph, suffered brain damage at birth due to a lack of oxygen, and his mom shares accounts of his early months where doctors didn't expect him to live.  He's now 16! Though he lives with limitations and challenges, he is expected to live a long and happy life.

Switching gears... stay with me... Justin's dad passed away unexpectedly in 2009.  Not knowing what it is like to lose a parent, and not knowing his dad all that well, I struggled to support Justin emotionally and sometimes felt like a failure as a wife.  I couldn't fix the pain he was experiencing.  When we returned to church the Sunday following the funeral, the first worship song we sang... okay we mostly cried through it... was "Your Love Never Fails".  The chorus resounded the words "There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).  This was the beginning of the healing process for Justin.  He clung to the word JOY, knowing that his joy was lost.  And in deep, dark moments like that you fear that it won't be restored.  God's Word reminds us to consider it joy when we suffer.  When we suffer, we are drawn closer to Him, thus producing even more faith (James 1:2-3).  After all, has anyone ever suffered more than Christ did?  He is the Great Physician.  Who else could heal our pain?  Who else understands and knows us so intimately, but the Creator Himself?

Three weeks after Justin said goodbye to his father, God blessed Justin with the news of becoming one.  We had just sat in Grandma Sue's living room telling Justin's step-mom, Beth, that we didn't think we could get pregnant after trying for the last 15 months and had recently received some negative test results.  Now, we were able to tell her that she was going to be a grandmother.  The timing could not have been better.  Though this news wouldn't replace her husband or remove the pain she was suffering, this news brought her JOY.  I can vividly recall the moment of telling her she was going to be a grandmother.  Tears flooded our faces.  Such a bittersweet time for all of us, that I can't wait to recount for Addison when she is older.

Fast forward 8 months to the birth story of Addison- which I couldn't help but replay today after learning of Baby Clara's arrival.  When my water broke, the nurse detected meconium in the amniotic fluid. (Meconium aspiration is what lead to Justin's brother, Joseph, not being able to breath at birth.  It's also what led our nephew, Cameron, on a life flight to Duke).  I wish I could say we were worried, as I am the ruler of worry.  However, a peace... one which passes all understanding... covered us like a warm blanket on a cold day.  This peace guarded our hearts, our thoughts. (Phil 4:7) The kind of peace that could only come from something or someone much greater than us humans.  The fears of the unknown never crossed our minds.  We followed the doctor and nurses' instructions and trusted that all would be fine.  The medical staff said that they didn't want Addison to cry once delivered, as they'd need to clear her lungs of the meconium, and crying would only increase the severeness of aspiration.  Isn't "the cry" one of the most memorable moments at child birth?  This didn't concern me a bit.  In fact, when they took her to the table to begin suctioning her lungs, I was counting her fingers and toes from a distance.  Why on earth I was concerned more about her fingers and toes, than her life is shocking to me now.  I say all this to say, this peace was so super natural!  It was not normal!

It's this supernatural peace that we felt that I pray for Courtney and Jason as they begin a long road ahead of them with Baby Clara.  We all have different stories.  Different endings.  At times we suffer little, and at other times, we suffer greatly.  It's when we find joy in our suffering, that Christ is magnified in our hearts and lives.

When we walked into church this morning, like I said when I started this post, our hearts were heavy.  A picture of Baby Clara in our minds... so tiny.  The chorus resounded the words "There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning", as we again sang the song, "His Love Never Fails".  Another favorite line in this song goes, "He makes all things work together for His good".  Some things?  No, all things.  Our good?  No, His good.  As believers and followers, we can rest assured that God is in control.  We know that whatever the outcome, He makes all things work together for His good. (Rom 8:28).  That His story for our lives is way better than anything we could write ourselves.

Praying for His blessings and favor over the sweet life of Baby Clara.  For our friends battling cancer, suffering from a mental illness, struggling with addictions, going through a divorce, or grieving the loss of a loved one ... whatever the suffering may be, may you find strength, hope and perseverance during this difficult time.  And lean on the one true Healer, to restore your joy in the midst of it all.