Your Wonders

Tag at the Beach, 2011.

I went searching again tonight.  And I stumbled upon these pictures from nearly five years ago.  And I wanted to share them, because they represent what must have been a very good day.

We had a wonderful crowd of students that night.  And in case you were wondering, Michael was there, sporting a green t-shirt, the same color as the one that his sister Sarah wore today.

Kate, Christian and Ellee were there as well, and it really does seem quite impossible to imagine that there were ever quite that small.  Five years ago, doesn’t seem like so much, until you look at pictures like this.

I wish I could tell you what Jeremy spoke about that night.  Over the years, there have been so many lessons and verses and words of encouragement that my husband has had the opportunity to share.  And I’ve always believed that if even only for that night, just one student heard God speak to his heart, then that in itself would make it all worth while.

I do know from these pictures, that Jeremy must have had the kids to separate and to spend a little Time Alone with God.  This idea was where we go our TAG acronym and something that we’ve always encouraged our students to do.

Because sometimes, it takes all of two seconds for the worries and stresses of life to grow to a terrifying size.  And suddenly, things feel out of control because we forget to spend time with the One who controls all things.

But when we can teach ourselves to stop and pray and to ask God to walk with us every step of the way?  That is when life starts to come together and when we get to unload those things that we have very little control over anyways.  And it’s so great to know that God loves us and that he cares for us and that he promises to help us when we make the simple gesture of just asking.

I looked for pictures of a good day, and found ones of a great day.  And it reminded me that the God that I serve and love is never ending with the wonders that He gives.  Psalm 65:8 shares, that the whole earth is filled with awe at God’s wonders.

And today, I got to get just a tiny glimpse of some of those wonders when I went up to visit Michael at the hospital.  When I arrived, Michael’s was working with his Physical and Occupational Therapists.  Sally waved me in, so I got to see the things that they are doing to help Michael.  As I watched them, I was overcome with gratitude for the ways that they are helping Michael.  When they left, I enjoyed some time with Sally and Sarah.  And I have to share something so great that I know God orchestrated.

Nancy Strong, Michael’s amazing Neuro-team Nurse Practitioner shared that they were able to modify Michael’s upcoming shunt surgery in a way that would help Michael more in the long run.  And as she shared, Sarah leaned over to me and told me that it was actually something that she had specifically prayed for.  “At the time, I just figured it was an impossible prayer… a shot in the dark,” Sarah explained.

But isn’t it great to know that God hears those impossible prayers and that in this case, he worked it out for Michael’s good?

I was so excited to learn about this and it’s just a good reminder for tonight, that we can pray for Michael’s upcoming surgery.  As of now, it’s on pace to be scheduled for next week.  There will be a significant test done on Saturday to make sure that Michael is ready for it.  So those would be two specific things that we can pray big prayers for.  God’s wonders never cease and I will continue to just ask that God will keep working those wonders for Michael.