Giver and Taker

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

psalm 46:10-11


I remember that first moment when I looked at my daughter's fractured skull... There was a deep tremble in the pit of my being... I thought, "Wow! This is it. I'm going to fall into the depths of the sea, loose someone so dear to me and experience just how dark and miserable life can be.

For the next two days we sat in quiet vigil... I prayed and prayed. I hung from the Lord. He was all I had.

When she came out of surgery healed Oh how high the high. I praised the Lord. I shouted for joy and held nothing back. I let the words pour from my lips. I sang and yelled and shouted. The Lord delivered. The Lord GIVES!

I remember hearing a few weeks later that my friends, the Kings, who were expecting their first child, were having major complications. The baby had to be taken by emergency surgery and the outcome looked bleak. I found myself at that place again, this time praying for my friends, my brother and sister in Christ. So pray I did. I prayed that night... I prayed until I couldn't pray anymore. So I wept. Then when tears wouldn't flow I got down on my belly and moaned for the same kind of deliverance to touch the Kings as did my baby Charisa.

But after three days, no miracle, Gavin and Deb said good-bye to their little girl. God is God... God gives and God takes. We don't always know why. But we continue to follow Him and seek Him and grow closer to Him because He's all we've got.

Trust in His plan. Deb told me once that if one heart is won for the Lord in the death of her daughter then her daughter would have died for a reason. Deb and Gavin's testimonial has inspired many, touched the hearts of more and lead souls to Christ. A week before the birth, I took a small group down to pray for Deb and the baby. I prayed for the Lord's glory to be revealed in the child's life. At first (and for many, many months) I felt like my prayer hadn't come true. But looking back now I see that the Lord just works in a different way then we would chose. The Lord's glory is being revealed in this child's life. From that small little coffin in the front of the church many people will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Praise the Lord! Praise the AWESOME MIGHTY POWER LORD! Who gives and takes away. Who turns all things from bad to good. Who turns frowns upside down... who takes lemons and makes lemonade.

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name