<\/p>\n
I was away from home tending to my youngest daughter who was in the hospital last week. The doctors discovered she has an aortic aneurysm. We were taken off guard \u2013 it was a shock to us \u2013 especially her.\u00a0 Her biggest fear was that she would not live to see \u201cher babies\u201d grow up. She has 4 children \u2013 two of them quite young and one of them with special needs. This puts a huge strain on their nerves,\u00a0 peace of mind, finances \u2013 the economy being what it is\u2026. A lot going is on in her life. She is a remarkably strong, young woman.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the same time she was in the hospital, her youngest son had surgery on his head at another hospital. It was not serious surgery but when a little guy is on a ventilator and feeding tube, it is all<\/span> serious. He is a resilient boy \u2013 I have lost count of his surgeries and procedures. We pray that he will outgrow these issues someday \u2013 sooner rather than later\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But I learned that I never quit being a mother. The kids are grown with children of their own but their needs weigh heavily on my heart. I want to figure out how I can \u201dfix it\u201d. What can I do to help\u2026but I want to do more than help \u2013 I want to make it all go away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I know I cannot fix everything or make the hard stuff to go away. And it would not be wise.\u00a0 We grow strong in the struggle. \u2013 they do too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It takes discipline for me to quit trying. \u00a0My job is to pray. Be loving and helpful when I can be. Be available as I can be. Advice can be given when asked for\u2026 But my role is a supportive one. I had to laugh at myself when I was visiting her in the hospital room and the doctors came in \u2013 I was tempted to butt in to ask questions or tell what I knew of the situation. But that is not my role.\u00a0 I am no longer the \u201cnext of kin\u201d \u2013 her husband is. Unfortunately, during those days his role was also \u201cbreadwinner\u201d so he was not available to her as they both would have liked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For those of you who have children, you know what I am talking about. We want our children to be \u201chealthy, wealthy and wise\u201d. We want their lives to be trouble free. But that is unrealistic and they would not mature fully or grow to be strong. They would not learn how to trust God. Their prayer life would be undeveloped. They would not experience the depths of His grace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Does the pain and heartache hurt? You betcha. Are you tempted to quit? Undoubtedly. God wanted us to have a perfect life. He created us perfectly, breathed life into us, provided the companionship of a mate and all the animals, and placed us in a perfectly beautiful environment. That was His original plan\u2026 We blew it! You know the story\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We have been struggling with the affects of that for millennia. We nor our children live\u00a0 perfect lives and never will. But God was not content to leave it that way\u2026He wanted to \u201cfix it\u201d. He sent His only son, Jesus, to come in human form to experience life as we do. Can you imagine the Almighty Creator being a created one? He subjected Himself to the laws of the universe He himself created. Amazing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He did that to \u201cfix it\u201d for us.\u00a0 He made a way for us to have a life with Him for eternity. No, it isn\u2019t perfect here and now – it will be one day and until then we can have His Spirit living in us. We can have a peace that passes our understanding, when things go terribly wrong.\u00a0 We can have joy in the midst of pain and heartache.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He has made a way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was away from home tending to my youngest daughter who was in the hospital last week. The doctors discovered she has an aortic aneurysm. We were taken off guard \u2013 it was a shock to us \u2013 especially her.\u00a0 Her biggest fear was that she would not live to see \u201cher babies\u201d grow…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,10,16,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-family","category-personal-thoughts","category-unexpected-storms-of-life"],"yoast_head":"\n