GOD IS LOVE



Yesterday in church our sermon was about God's love for us. His love is beyond anything we can imagine. He loves us no matter who we are or what we have done. He loves us even if we do not love Him back. He loves us even though there will be many days that we will disappoint Him. It is a love that is taller than the tallest mountain and deeper that the deepest sea. As a sinner saved by Grace it is still hard for me to comprehend how much God cares for me even when I am living a life that is not always pleasing to Him.

Since the passing of our little Emma-Grace, God has impressed on my heart so many times how important it is to love those around us. You never know when you may never see someone again. It doesn’t matter how often we tell others we love them; what matters is how often we show them our love. Words are important, but actions are the proof of our words. This is what God did for us. He did not just say, “I love you.” He showed us His love by sending His Son so we might live through Him.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

What has God’s love done for us?

1. It shows us what love is.
Love is sacrificing for others by giving up our own plans for them.
Love is action.

2. It has taken away God’s anger over our sins.
Jesus accepted our punishment.
Jesus took our sins upon himself.
Now God see Jesus’ righteousness when He looks at us instead of our sins.

3. God’s love has made a way for us to live.
Without Jesus, we are dead in our sins.
With Jesus, we are made alive if we live through Him.
Furthermore, the life we now live is real because it now includes a personal friendship with God.

1 John 4:7-12
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.


Jesus stood in for us. Other people all around us each day need someone to stand in for them. We can’t take their sin away, but we can go to them and love them in the same manner that God has loved us. So, why should we love one another? Because as I John 4:12 says “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

I'm not sure about you, but many times I'm guilty of not spreading God’s love like I should. We know a wonderful and loving God and we see people who need that love and yet we don't share it with them. I don't think it's because we want to greedily keep God's love to ourselves. Many times we just get so busy with our "life" that we forget the things that are most important. Our priorities a lot of times are just not where they need to be. God say we should put other firsts. We often get caught up in pride and self. I read once that we should die to ourselves daily. What does that mean? To me that means others should see God's will and His love when they see me and not LaLisa. I can say with all honestly that I need to work on that one. I am a self-admitted control freak and have a problem handing it "all" over to God.

I try to remind myself that often the only God some people will see is the God in me. Many people will never enter the doors of the church. However those same people are exposed to so called "Christians" each day. Do they see Jesus in my actions? Am I portraying a loving God? A God who loves His children no matter what? A God who loves us no matter how much money we have in the bank, no matter what color of skin we have, no matter what kind of clothes we wear or what kind of car we drive. He loves us know matter what condition or hearts are in. Do we show the same love? I can honestly say that I don't always love like I should.

Pastor Rick Hamrick said over and over yesterday that God is LOVE. That is so true. He is the ultimate example of love. Praise God for His wonderful blessing of love for a sinner like me. I pray that I will make a daily effort to love those around in a way that they may see Jesus in me.

1 John 4:16-21 
"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."Thank you God for you all surpassing love. Thank you for loving a sinner like me. Thank you for being the example of LOVE I need to encompass and share each day. 

BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL

Emma-Grace's headstone was delivered today.  I am so glad it is finally at the graveyard.  I think it turned out beautifully.  Thanks to Greene's Memorial in Forest City for a great job.  Thanks to Jan Crow, one of my best friends, who was my moral support today as they placed the stone.  I know Emma-Grace is smiling in Heaven.  It think the headstone matches her personality perfectly. 

Today as I reflected on what a blessing Emma-Grace was and how much God has blessed our family through adoption I wanted to share something special.  Our Pastor Rich Hamrick officiated.at Emma's memorial service.  I think he did a wonderful job honoring our precious little girl.  He also talked about adoption and how if we are Christians, God has adopted us into His family.  I won't share the whole service but, I hope he does not mind if I share some thoughts He shared that day.  

PASTOR RICK HAMRICK:

....."The Bible says that those who are in Christ are co-heirs with Christ as sons and daughters of God.  In other words, we who believe in Jesus Christ have been adopted by God.  

 Let me read some verses from Galatians 4.  "When the time had fully come, God sent His son, born of a woman, born under law to redeem those under law that we might receive the full rights of Sons.  Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of His son into our hearts.  The spirit who calls out , " Abba Father".  So, you are no longer a slave, but a son and since you are a son, God has also made you an heir.  Now we didn't deserve this from God and we brought nothing with us and we were also a big risk for God.  Would we love God in return?  Would we rebel against god?  God knew the answeres to this question and He adopted us anyway.  

In his book, The Great House of God, Max Lucado puts it this way.  "Knowing full well the trouble you would be and the price He would pay, He signed His name next to yours and changed your name to His and took you home.  Your Abba adopted you and became your father.  And to that I would add, His blood runs through your veins.  Well, you may say you are not really blood related.  Oh, but yes.  You are.  That is the blood of Jesus Christ that was spilled that you may have this gift of God, that you can claim the bloodline of Jesus.  One of the most beautiful examples of God's love for us.  Without our deserving it, He said, "Would you be my child?  Would you come and live with me?  Can I be your Dad?"

" WHEN LOVE TAKES YOU IN " :  SONG BY STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN
SANG BY ABBY HAMRICK AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE

When love takes you in, everything changes.  And, you know, God does that for us.  He takes us in.  He gives us a home.  He gives us a family, a place to belong.  He say, " This is yours."  He call us to live life and live it to the full.  

I just want to say a few words to the family.  You did everything conceivable.  You efforts were heroic.  I can't tell you how many people marveled at the display of love that you have shown that little girl.  And some may think, "Well she wasn't really theirs", Oh yes.  Oh yes. She was theirs.  She had their love, You did everything that anybody could figure to do and you worked at it.  You were determined.  You prayed.  You spent time with God like maybe you haven't spent time with Him before and you drew close to God......

I have heard people ask, "why didn't the miracle happen?"  Folks, God adopted Emma-Grace as well.  This is a miracle.  God loved her and cared for her that much.  That is a miracle.  Emma-Grace is living with her Savior and that is a miracle.  And she is running around and doing cartwheels and twisting all around in circles all around Jesus, I know right now.  Somebody said she is in the lap of Jesus.  I said, "I don't know if Emma-Grace is in His lap.  I think she is running around."  That is a miracle.  Oh, there have been all kinds of miracles.  Miracle after miracle.  Now we don't have Emma-Grace with us.  That is the miracle that was so desperately wanted.  But God has worked and He has blessed and He is going to. 

PRAYER:  We don't really know what to say God.  It seems terribly unfair.  We can't even begin to make any sense out of this.  Why?  Oh, but God, when we think about how much you love and care for us, when we think about how great and awesome your plans are.  When we think you are so wise and mighty that we can't even comprehend.  And then, we imagine Emma-Grace there in your presence and the picture starts to take shape.  We start to get a little bit of an understanding.  But, God, you know that there are so many people in this community, in other communities around us, people all over the world asking right now, "Why?"  God I ask that you bless each person right now who asks that question, to begin to show them the way, to begin to bring comfort to their lives.  Would you show your love as only You can.  And, Lord we pray for your mighty arm of comfort to wrap around this family.  It is hard to imagine how they might overcome this, except we know, the know you.  Thank you for being God.  Thank you for your comfort and your peace.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen. "

Thank you Pastor Rick Hamrick for the beautiful memorial service in honor of our precious Emma-Grace.  Again we thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, hospital visits, gifts of food, gifts of money, and so many other things that were done on behalf of our precious Emma-Grace and our family during this long difficult road.  We feel so blessed to have such caring, wonderful friends and family. We can't thank you all enough.

WAVES OF GRIEF

Several weeks ago my family and I took a trip to Hilton Head Island. The first few days were very difficult because we all kept thinking about how much Emma-Grace loved the beach and how much we missed her. She would have played in the sand and water all day if you would let her. Even though we were all sad, God reminded us over and over about the wonderful times we had at the beach with Emma in the past. Overall I think getting away as a family was helpful for everyone.  We had a wonderful trip and made some beautiful new memories as a family.

Several days as I sat on the beach I thought about the similarities of grieving and the ebb and flow of the tide. It has been amazing to me how grief affects me at times. It is very much like standing in the ocean. The water can be peaceful and calm and the next thing you know a big wave comes along and plows you down. Sometimes it can even knock the breath out of you. Each day my grief seems to be getting a little easier, but just when I think I have it all under control here comes another wave. It can last a few minutes and involve a just few tears or it can go on for hours and involve crying buckets.

I want to thank everyone for continuing to remember our family in your prayers. This has been by far the hardest thing we have ever faced. Emma-Grace was a gift from God. As Christians we can say all day long- “everything we have is God’s; including our children”.  We even dedicate our children to God’s service. We did that with Emma-Grace after she came home from China. Actually acknowledging everything is God's is difficult because you know He gives you these "gifts", but you also know that He can take them away.  We knew Emma-Grace was God’s child. We knew He entrusted our family to care for her while she was here on earth. However we could have never dreamed we would have to give her back to Him so soon.

I was telling someone today about how we almost missed the opportunity to have Emma-Grace as a part of our family. The day we were to let the adoption agency know if we wanted to adopt her we almost said no. We had never planned to adopt another child. However God orchestrated an elaborate plan for Emma-Grace to enter our lives (you can read the whole story on her caring bridge sitehttp://www.caringbridge.org/visit/emmagracecarpenter/mystory). When we found out about Emma we had 6 days to pray and decide as a family if we felt lead to take her. I had every intention on calling the adoption agency at lunch time on the final day and tell them we were not going to take her because we were still unsure. But at the last minute, “literally”, God said “you can save this little girl, she is yours”. It is amazing to me how much God is waiting to bless us if we just take that first step toward His will for our lives. Even though we only had Emma-Grace for 2 ½ years, we would say yes again tomorrow. She was truly what her name says “Grace”- a gift from God. I am so thankful we stepped out in faith and was able to enjoy the wonderful blessing that Emma-Grace was.

I continue to ask myself what is the next step in this process of recovering? How do we continue to pick up the broken pieces? Although there are no simple answers to those questions, I believe that there are some conscious choices we can make to help us with the process of healing. Grief, difficult as it may be, is necessary. Otherwise I don’t think you can move on. During our grief God is there to hold and comfort us if we only let him. Jesus said: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)


The waves of grief from Emma’s death will come and go, I am certain of that. The important part is to give into the waves when they come. We cannot receive the comfort God offers unless we allow ourselves to mourn. Grieve in your prayer time. Grieve with your family and friends. I think when people attempt to "get over" sad feelings too quickly, they shortcut the work that Jesus is trying to accomplish.

In Galatians 6:2 Paul said: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Oftentimes our pride prevents us from accepting support from others. Yet if we refuse help from others, then we prohibit them from fulfilling what they feel God is leading them to do to be of service. In difficult times, God sends people our way to assist in carrying our burdens. I know for me personally the last 6 months events have placed a tremendous burden on my heart. I have needed people to help shoulder my load. I feel it is a big mistake to isolate yourselves from others when you're going through a crisis. We all need other people in a tragedy. We need their perspective, we need their support, we need their encouragement, and sometimes we just need their presence. I thank everyone who has been here for the Carpenter family. Without you I think the waves of the ocean could have very well taken us under.

When Emma-Grace was sick I talked a lot about faith. We had faith that God was going to take care of Emma, and truthfully he took care of her in the best way possible. She is now fully whole. Jesus promised "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) Faith is facing the facts of life, and not being forever discouraged by them. That's what real faith is. It's not pretending everything is great or going to end up perfect. There are bad things in the world. And bad things do happen to good people, but faith is facing the facts and knowing that no matter what happens God is in control.  There's very little in life that we can control. In fact, I've discovered that the most important things in life are the very things we cannot control. Yet I remind myself daily that no matter what happens God holds the world and my life in his loving hands. So as the waves of life may push us around at times, keeping our eyes on our Savior Jesus Christ will help us keep our heads above the water.

"God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes, or the mountains fall into the sea." Psalms 46:2 

“The LORD above is mighty- mightier than the sound of raging water, mightier than the foaming waves of the sea.” Psalms 93:4

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA-GRACE

Today Emma-Grace would have been turning 4 years old.  It is a bitter-sweet day for me.  I know she is happy, healthy and in the best place she could be.  I am glad she is no longer sick and in the hospital.  I imagine she is playing at the feet of Jesus.  Maybe, just maybe, she is being still long enough to sit in His lap.   And yet in my selfishness, today I wish I had her with me so that I could hold her on my lap and give her a birthday present.  I wish she was here so that she could eat all of the birthday cake she wanted.   I wish, I wish, I wish….  I could say it all day long and it would not change anything.  

The last 6 months have been, as I told someone yesterday, a nightmare.  It is still hard for me to believe my precious little girl is not here.  In my mind I keep thinking, "how did this happen?"  Children I have never met are in the obituary page of the paper, but not mine.  Which brings me to the, “how did we get here?” question.  As much as we don't want it to be, it is reality.  Our Emma-Grace is gone.  Even if we try to forget, we can’t because as a reminder of everything that has transpired, we have been in the process of dealing with hospital bills and insurance papers almost daily.  The after math of what feels like a cruel joke.  

I read in yesterday’s newspaper that a little boy who was 4 years old was beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend.  How is that even possible?  How could anyone hurt a child?  An innocent child, who could no doubt, not defend himself against an adult.  How is that fair?  And where was his mom during this time?  It makes me wonder why some people even have children.  We loved our little Emma-Grace so much and yet she is no longer here.  I know God’s plans are perfect, but my “human” brain has such a hard time understanding some days.  As you can probably tell, I have a lot of questions to ask God when I get to Heaven.

 

One of the things we have done over the last two months is to decide on a headstone for Emma-Grace’s grave.  We wanted something unique.  Something that we felt would symbolize what a special little girl she was.  I will post a picture in a few months when it is delivered.  I think it is going to be beautiful and I think she will like it very much.  I once read that the most important thing on a headstone is the dash that is between the day you were born and the day you died.  Because that little dash represents the life you lived.  That tiny line may consist of only a few hours or a hundred years.  So in thinking about Emma-Grace’s “dash” I have been thinking about what my dash consist of.   

The Bible says we are to live a life that is pleasing to God.  I can say with all certainly that my life does not please Him at times.  Like the times I question His perfect plan for my life.  We know that God has a good plan for our lives and as Christians we are to commit to that and not settle for less than what he has for us. This truly takes faith because none of us can predict tomorrow.  When we experience the “valleys” of life it is so easy to question God’s intent for us.  We are to “be very careful how” we live. In order to live a life with true meaning, it is critical to depend on God’s strength and direction. God has the road map for the life of meaning that he has ordained for each of us.  Our job is to let Him be the compass for our map.  That is hard for control freaks like me. 

When we walk in God’s wisdom, we are “to be wise, making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16). It is then, that we experience the true meaning of life.  Even more, as we embrace God’s purpose for our lives, we become positive influences in our jobs, families, churches, communities, and other areas of life.  As I have said before, that is easier said than done. 

In Psalm 46:10 it says “Be still, and know that I am God”.   This verse is the assurance of God’s presence in our lives if we allow Him to be.  In fact the whole chapter of Psalm 46 is a reminder that God is with us no matter what happens.  In the first section (vs. 1-3), there is an opening declaration that God is our refuge and strength; therefore, the Lord’s people need not fear even in the bleakest of circumstances.  In the second part (vs. 4-7), it says that God is the calm in the storm.  The last part (vs. 8-11) invites the people of God to consider God’s past interventions in the affairs of men as solid evidence of his abiding presence,  “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (vs. 11).

Emma-Grace’s “dash” of life filled our family and those around her with beautiful memories.  I pray today that I am making the most of my “dash”.  Our Heavenly Father is interested in every aspect of our lives.  As I remember my precious little girl, I ask God for the wisdom I need as I proceed in all the areas of my life.  The most vital consideration however should not be my biological life, but my spiritual life.  So my question should not be “how did I get here?”, but “now that I am here, how can I use this difficult time in my life to glorify God”?   I think I need to work a little on my spiritual “dash”.   Today as I think about how my “dash” is affecting those around me, I think I will have a piece of birthday cake in honor of a little girl who has taught me so much from letting me be a part of her “dash”. 

NO GUILT HERE

The Wikipedia officially defines guilt as:   
The fact of being responsible for the commission of an offense.^[1] It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that violation.^[2] It is closely related to the concept of remorse.

There are several things I know to be true.  1.  The Bible says our days are numbered (  Psalms 139:16 "You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed")..  2.  What happened to Emma-Grace is extremely rare.  3.  We pushed for and the doctors tried everything possible to save Emma-Grace.  4.  Every test done to try to figure out how to help Emma-Grace was negative.  5.  Nothing we did or did not do would have changed the outcome of Emma-Grace's illness.

Over the last few weeks the devil has really been working overtime in my brain to make me feel guilty.   He has in every way, shape and form tried to make me feel, as a mom and as a nurse practitioner, that I could have done something to keep Emma from getting sick.  I know in my heart that there was nothing I could have done to prevent what happened.  My heart knows that, but the devil is trying to convince my brain otherwise.

I truly believe that as we are formed in the womb, God knows every detail of our life.  He knows the beginning, end and everything in between.  He knew Emma-Grace's biological parents for whatever reason would abandon her.  He knew she would only live for a few years and I believe He chose our family to take care of her during that time.   I heard the song "Only Grace" by Matthew West this morning on the way to work.  The words spoke to me.  
ONLY GRACE: by Matthew West
There is no guilt here
There is no shame
No pointing fingers
There is no blame
What happened yesterday…has disappeared
The dirt has washed away
And now it's clear

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there's nothing left now
There's only grace

You're starting over now
Under the sun
You're stepping forward now
A new life has begun
Your new life has begun

An’ there's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me…it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there's nothing left now
There's only grace…

And if you should fall again
Get back up, get back up
Reach out and take my hand
Get back up, get back up
Get back up again
Ohh…get…back…up…again…


There's only grace…
There's only love…
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough…it’s enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there's nothing left now
There's only…there’s only…grace…

There's only mercy and believe me it's enough…it’s enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there's nothing left now
There’s only…grace……
So get back up…get back up again…
Get back up again.

I think God is trying to tell me that I have nothing to feel guilty about.  Nothing I could have done would have changed the days He had numbered for Emma-Grace.  We did what He wanted, and that was to love that precious little girl to the moon and back.  In return she gave us love in her special Emma-Grace way and was a wonderful blessing to our family.

I always find it interesting when people say, "Those children are so blessed to have you all as their family".  The truth is that we are the blessed ones to have been chosen by God to raise them as our children.    We understand that our children, biological and adopted, are a gift from God.  They are not really our children, but God's children.  He just lets us have the privilege of taking care of them while they are here on earth.  I can say that Craig and I have been truly blessed.  We are extremely proud of all of our children and the individuals they have become.  

I thank God for the short time we had with Emma-Grace.  We would adopt her again tomorrow, even if we had known the outcome.  None of us are promised tomorrow.  James 4:14-15." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."    In other words, life is short.  God wants us to make our time on earth count.  We should be spending our time living for Him with a passion and with no regrets.  That is easier said than done.  

I think of Emma-Grace's short time with us and I am reminded of a quote from the movie  Steel Magnolias  "I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special."   God has richly blessed us with great children.  Emma-Grace was no exception.  Having her for 2 1/2 short years was definitely wonderful.  I hate to even think about the incredible blessings we would have missed if we had not follow God's call to adopt her.  

I have decided that no matter how hard he tries, I am not going to let the devil defeat me.  The only thing I have to feel guilty about is that I have let the him control way too many of my thoughts.  Instead I need to be giving this battle over to God and letting Him fight this spiritual warfare for me.  So as it says in Matthew 16:23  "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." 

    

HOLD MY HAND

My little Emma-Grace loved to hold hands.  Most nights she wanted to go to sleep holding my hand.  Each night she would ask to be beside my bed. She was still in a crib which luckily had wheels on it.  I would roll the crib beside my bed and lay beside her and we would hold hands until she dozed off.  If I was busy and could not lie down yet she still wanted me to roll the crib over beside my bed.  That way when I did go to bed,  if she awoke in the night, she could reach over to touch me and I would then hold her hand until she could go back to sleep.

During the day Emma-Grace constantly wanted to be held.  When we went somewhere she would want to walk beside someone in the family and hold their hand that is if she was not being held.  She is what I like to call a Velcro baby.  She was constantly attached to someone.  I have to admit that there were more times than one that I found this to be frustrating.  On the day she got sick her last words to me were "hold me mommy, hold me".  Looking back I am thankful for her clinging nature.  I am grateful for every minute that God let me hold that wonderful little girl. She helped me realize how precious even the smallest moments in life are. 

I remember when my older children were younger thinking that if I had only know the day that they were going to ask me to hold them for the last time, before they grew too big, I would have held them longer.  I would have rocked them more.  I would have slowed down and spent more time doing just "silly stuff".  However before I knew it, they are growing older, getting heavier and being “big” kids that didn’t need me as much.  

As children of God he is always present for us.  The good thing is we can never be too young or too old.  It doesn't matter how little or how long we have been a Christian.  We can have small problems or big problems.  God doesn't care.  If we call out His name He will be there for us.  That may be to walk beside us, to hold our hand or carry us.  He is and will be whatever we need at the moment.  Praise God!  I know I could not have made it through the last 5 months without His presence in my life.  I often wonder how people survive difficulties without God.  

Isaiah 41:10 10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

There's something about physical touch that brings comfort and stability in an uncertain world.  God designed us to feel comfort from the touch of others.  I don't mean that in an inappropriate way.  I just think that in this techno world that we live in now, we have forgotten the importance of reaching out to those in need.  We text or e-mail each other instead of picking up the phone and actually talking to someone.  I am just as guilty as anyone of this.  We have become so busy with our own lives we can't see that there are people in need all around us. 

The New Testament is filled with stories of Jesus touching those around Him.  He laid His hands on women who had been scorned, the sick who needed healing, children dancing at His feet and lepers ashamed of their bodies. The mere touch of Him healed the physically and spiritually sick.  I picture His hands always reached out to someone.  What a beautiful picture that is.  

There are times in our lives that we aren't sure if we can face another minute or even take another step alone.  Things are utter chaos in our lives.  We may be facing discouragement, sickness, financial distress, unemployment, death, depression or things no one knows except for us and God.  How excited our Heavenly Father would probably be if we would just look up and ask for Him to hold us during our time of need.  His hands are waiting.  We just have to be willing to reach out to them.  Praise God for His willingness to take care of us.  

I pray that as a child of God, He will make me more aware of those around me that are in need of someone to "care".  And that I will be willing to be the hands and feet of God and provide the healing touch they might need.  

"The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."  Footprints in the sand by Carolyn Carty, 1963

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

I had mentioned in my last post that Allyson was upset that she never got to tell her sister good-bye.  Our plan was for Ally to send Emma-Grace a letter telling her anything she wanted to.  After deciding to do this, Katie, Christopher, Allyson and I all decided to write a letter to Emma and then send them by balloon "airmail".  The kids loved the idea and took several days actually getting their letters written.  After it was all said and done we proceeded to gather the balloons for the event.  We were finally ready to send out our letters yesterday.  All in all it took 6 mylar balloons and 10 latex balloons to lift the letters up into the sky.  Talk about heavy duty letters.  

I have to admit I did peak at Christopher's and Allyson's letters to see what they wanted to tell their sister.  I know, "bad mama".    However I will say I was quite impressed with their maturity and the things they told their little sister.  They both talked about how much they loved her, how they did not want her to have to die and that they missed her very much.   All things I know everyone in the family also feels, but I was amazed at how well at 9 and 10 years old they were able to verbalize this in their letters.  

The actual send off of the balloons could not have worked out better.  I came in from work and the sun was just about to set in the sky.  We took the special package up the hill in behind our house as to avoid the balloons getting caught in the surrounding trees.  I took pictures to remember the event by.  Chris and Ally let the letters attached to the strings of the balloons go and we watched as they rose up into the sky.  As we looked up to follow the balloons on their journey what did we see but a beautiful rainbow in the horizon.  We watched at the balloons slowly but surely made their way up and over the rainbow and then out of sight.  What a beautiful sign from God letting us know our precious little Emma-Grace is with Him

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"As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake." - Ezekiel 1:28

In the Bible there are rainbows mentioned in the beginning, middle, and end of scripture. Near the beginning in Genesis, God sends a rainbow as His covenant that He will never again flood all the earth as punishment for human sin. In the middle, in Ezekiel, the rainbow symbolizes the coming of Christ, as well as to declare the glory of God. And in Revelation, at the end of God's Word, John described Christ as "clothed with a cloud and a rainbow on His head," a symbol of peace and reconciliation with God.

In the Bible God often used symbols to show us His goodness and righteousness.   God gave us the rainbow as a symbol of the trustworthiness of His promises - as a symbol of hope in Him.  God gave the symbol of the rainbow to Noah and all of us after the great flood. He gave it to us to say He keeps His promises.  I think He continues to let us see rainbows even now to remind us of His wonderful promises. 

As Christians we often think our lives should be without adversity.  But God never promised us a life free of pain. As most of us have experienced in one way or another trials do come.  We aren’t immune to adversity, but God has promised that he will keep us safe in the storm.  When trails come, often it may be hard to hear God amidst the sounds of the storm.  However, we can rest assured that no matter how loud or violent the tribulation, He is there right beside us.  After all of the wind, thunder and rain are gone, He reminds us of His love with the beautiful stillness and a rainbow in the sky. 

Sometimes we need a little heavenly reminder, that we much choose to see, to believe that miracles can come through the trials of life. The most beautiful rainbows are those that come from storms that rage the roughest. For in seeking out the miracle in the trial, we’ll find our rainbow in the flood and God’s promises through the storm. After all, I once read that you can’t even spell rainbow without rain. 

I think yesterday's rainbow was a beautiful example of God's love for our family. A promise, that as His children, He goes to prepare a place for us, just like He did for Emma-Grace.  A place that is more precious to me now than ever.  Especially since I know my little Emma-Grace will be waiting on me at the gates of Heaven.  Well, at least in my letter to Emma I ask her to wait for me at the gates, so that's how I am planning it anyway.  

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth."  Genesis 9: 12-13