God Shouts to Us in Our Pain

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”

God has been holding my heart in amazing ways the past few weeks and I am extremely grateful for the tight bonds and spiritual foundations established with my children by a life of home education and for a God who gives beauty for our ashes.  One of Our daughters is in India to teach English as a second language to university students for six months.  Actually she feels called to a lot more there, but this is a stepping stone. The spiritual battle has been extremely intense and she wound up in the hospital for more than a week.  It culminated in her legs being paralyzed and finally a night of excruciating pain followed by erratic breathing, her heart going crazy, and the paralysis creeping up to her neck. None of the tests they did could reveal what was wrong and we were making plans to send a nurse friend with a current visa to help her fly home hoping she would be strong enough, with help, to travel by commercial flight.  Our doctor here (who is a godly man of faith and a dear friend) prayed a beautiful prayer for her healing and God's glory one night on the phone with me and the following morning someone from the church there came and laid hands on her and prayed over her and of course all of our church, friends and relatives here have been praying.  God has been faithful to answer those prayers and two days later she was able to walk and actually leave the hospital and go back to her apartment there.  Now less than a week later, she has been back in the classroom teaching, traveling to school alone by rickshaw....  God is amazing and powerful. 

About the same time another daughter found out she is pregnant.  She is facing life as a single mother.  Our hearts are wrenched by the pain and challenges she and her precious little one will face, but we rejoice that she has chosen life for her baby.  Even in the face of pressure from friends and the baby's father to abort - she is outspokenly pro-life. It is this pregnancy that God is using to answer our prayers for her salvation - for she has returned to her God and His light is back in her eyes.

We look for relief from pain, instead God chooses pain to shape us and to make a platform to display His love and glory.  He doesn't leave us alone in our pain, instead he carries us.  I have felt His arms around me and the sweet breath of His peace comforting me. 

The familiar Footprints in the Sand poem is so true....

 During the week when the above things were taking place in our lives, my Mom (not knowing about the pregnant granddaughter) shared Laura Story's song Blessings with me and I played it over and over that week, weeping every time!  "What if the trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?"

I rest in His mercies - His wisdom to bring days of joy and days of pain - sometimes running on parallel tracks!  He has good plans for us - His goodness supercedes any evil that can come our way - He uses it all for good.