Joy in the Midst of Pain
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is from the heart of two moms that were gotten off of the CarePages. The first is from Katie Dowlen. Her son, Sam, received a spinal cord injury after his second day of his freshmen year at Tennessee Tech this past August 29th. The second is by Cindy Landis who lost her precious 12 year old daughter Connor in her fight with cancer this past June of 2009.
From Katie Dowlen: One of the most precious parts of this whole deal has been the opportunity for us to reconnect with Sam in a way we could not possibly have done otherwise. Is that not just like God? One of those for the good parts that He talks about in Romans 8:28 (We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.). Thank you so much for not growing weary in bringing Sam and our family to the feet of Jesus. We see Him everywhere. And in every step of this journey. I continue to pray for Sam s complete healing and recovery. As his mom, I am simply unable to pray for anything less. Yet while I pray for his body to return to what it was before August 29th, I pray his heart and his soul never will. Nor mine. We know that God never wastes pain. And that He uses everything to grow us up into who He has for us to be. Everything.
From Cindy Landis: God has blessed us through our tragedy. Your love, support, and many acts of kindness have overwhelmed our broken hearts. My heart has not only been broken though, it has been shattered....shattered into a million pieces that will take time to piece back together. And once it is back together, it will remain forever altered by the chips and cracks that could not be repaired. Perhaps, with time even the remaining rough edges of my mended heart will be smoothed away by the many of hugs and mountains of love poured over and into my wounded spirit. My heart will never be the same but God will enable this abiding heart to help others see the miracle of HIS amazing, unconditional love. The miracle that allows me to see the million and one twinkling stars in the sky and smile because I know Connor is among them....even through the darkness we are experiencing now.
We are sad and sometimes afraid. We are mad and sometimes very angry. Yet our God loves us. He loves us and He knows our pain…. pain that only comes from loving and losing a child. He cries with us. And He knows our despair. And we know it is through our despair by which we have come closer to Him. I have never felt pain so intense, yet I have never felt joy so immense. Pure, inexplicable joy in the midst of pain and grief that could only come from the loving arms of our Lord Jesus. The arms cannot remove the pain but they will give us peace and comfort. They will lift us and mold us into servants of HIS great love. In our pain we seek him more and by doing so we are held a little tighter and lifted a little higher. We thank our God for the pain that has brought us closer to Him.
Jesus said in John 16:33 . . . in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
Posts
