OUR DAILY BREAD : SOMETHING’S WRONG

[cimi]

SATURDAY MARACH 18


SOMETHING’S WRONG

TODAY’S READING
Psalm 34:11-18
_________________________________________________________

The LORD is close to
the brokenhearted
and saves those
who are crushed
in spirit. Psalm 34:18
_________________________________________________________

The morning after our son, Allen, was born, the doctor sat down in a chair near the foot of my bed and said, “something’s wrong.” Our son, so perfect on the outside, had a life-threatening birth defect and needed to be flown to a hospital 700 miles away for immediate surgery.

When the doctor tells you something is wrong with your child, your life changes. Fear of what lies ahead can crush your spirit and you stumble along, desperate for a God who will strengthen you so you can support your child. Would a loving God allow this? you wonder. Does He care about my child? Is He there? These and other thoughts shook my faith that morning.

Then my husband, Hiram, arrived and heard the news. After the doctor left, Hiram said, “Jolene, let’s pray.” I nodded and he took my hand. “Thank You, Father, for giving Allen to us. He’s Yours, God, not ours. You loved him before we knew him, and he belongs to You. Be with him when we can’t. Amen.”

Hiram has always been a man of few words. He struggles to speak his thoughts and often doesn’t try, knowing that I have enough words to fill any silence. But on a day when my heart was broken, my spirit crushed, and my faith gone, God gave Hiram strength to speak the words I coudln’t say. And clinging to my husband’s hand, in deep silence and through many tears, I sensed that God was very near.

__Jolene Philo, Guest writer

__How has God used people to strengthen you when your spirit
was crushed? Share your story at facebook.com/ourdailybread

**The best kind of friend is a praying friend.

[notforgotten]

Amen.