Life is constantly throwing us curve balls...I think that's what we get for disobeying and eating forbidden fruit. Life is usually not predictable, instead it is typically haphazard, unorganized, disheveled, crazy and always guided by the Father alone. Only He knew what the future would hold...even before the 7 days of creation, He knew. That boggles my mind completely and wholly, and yet with the faith He has mercifully granted me, I follow Him in this unknown, hectic, and sometimes scary world. (Now I am going to try and make these thoughts come full circle so you can somewhat understand where I am coming from. Please be patient with me, my writing skills and/or story-telling were never top notch....I seem to get distracted too easily.)
The last few days I have been able to experience the odd weather that the Springs gets this time of year. One day it was sunny and 85 the next was overcast, super windy with 100% chance of snow...and it did, only a few inches but still it was a crazy difference to experience especially when by early afternoon everything was melted and it was at least 70 and sunny again. The weather being as crazy and unpredictable as it was (and with as cranky as the cold weather made me) it led me to think about the blessings I have recently been given and the other situations in life that bring us to our knees in prayer.
Back in February I was able to fly back to MN for my older sister's baby shower, a great event with amazing family and friends who were so excited to celebrate this new life coming into the world. (If you would like to read more from her perspective check it out http://www.obergsmn.blogspot.com/2012/02/rubber-duckies-everywhere.html ) Then a few days ago we received the amazing news that she finally had her beautiful little one, a daughter. And in our family she is the first grand-baby!!! A gift from God to surly be thankful for especially since my sister went through 48 hours of labor and her baby was over 10 lbs but both very healthy, doing great and are now settling into life outside the womb at home :)
Another amazing gift was the birthday of my Grandma Dee, 89 years young! My Dad's mother is someone I have always known to be stronger than her circumstances; she had 10 children while moving around the country since my Grandpa was in the military. A woman who has been given her share of difficult times and yet continues to cling to her faith!
We are constantly being flooded with blessings from above that most of the time we don't even see the mercy He grants us, until we hit a wall, a situation that we face where only God can help. Very recently I found out that a friend and her husband, who tried for a very long time for a baby and who is now pregnant with her first baby, were given this type of struggle to go through. She is only 19 weeks along, her cervix ruptured and she is dilated to 3. She went to a larger hospital with a NICU but was discharged after a few days with no changes. The prayer now is that their little girl can stay where she is for at least 4 more weeks while her mommy is put on very strict bed rest. Right now even the doctors say that they can't do much if their little girl comes now, but after 24 weeks there is a better chance, only God, the once who 'knit her together' in that first moment of conception has the ability in this situation. His will be done! Please pray for these three dear Christian brother and sisters as our God alone holds their future!
All of these situations, blessings and struggles show so blatantly how our Father's precious hands alone hold us and carry us through our lives, the good and difficult times. During this past Holy Week, where we use the time to refocus our eyes on the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us terrible sinners, it is also a time to remember that God holds each and every one of us. He knew exactly what blessings and struggles we would encounter and how He would constantly give us strength to overcome these situations. We are never alone in life, our Father is constantly by our side.
***I found out today, by God's will alone, that our friends who were struggling with the possible birth of their very premature daughter have just started a very hard journey. Their daughter, Kora Ruth, was born early Easter Monday. She was both delivered and then baptized by her father, a few minutes later Kora went home to her Heavenly Father. Although Kora is now in the best place imaginable with no pain or suffering, please continue to keep her parents in your prayers as they are facing all of the emotions that come with a struggle that parents were never supposed to experience, the loss of their child.
***I found out today, by God's will alone, that our friends who were struggling with the possible birth of their very premature daughter have just started a very hard journey. Their daughter, Kora Ruth, was born early Easter Monday. She was both delivered and then baptized by her father, a few minutes later Kora went home to her Heavenly Father. Although Kora is now in the best place imaginable with no pain or suffering, please continue to keep her parents in your prayers as they are facing all of the emotions that come with a struggle that parents were never supposed to experience, the loss of their child.
