Be Still

Wow! What an incredible week it's been.

In the midst of preparing for a mission trip this past week, my son, Ben, got VERY sick. Many of you know that , he was bed-ridden for several days with an unknown illness. He had to have two IVs put in and was a very sick little boy. It couldn't have come at a busier time for us...or so we thought (in our selfish minds). We were so busy filling our lives with worry and anxiety that we almost missed God's blessing in it all.

You're probably saying, "What could possibly be the blessing in a sick child?"

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."

We were forced, as a family, to be still for an entire week. This didn't hit me until 12:30 a.m. Thursday after 3 days of no sleep, when Ben was finally resting. I had slept (I use that word sarcastically) outside his room on the couch for 3 nights. Abby came in to where I was on the couch, and wanted to chat....at 12:30 a.m.....when Ben was asleep...when I had a chance to sleep. But, I knew it was important.

She began to talk to me about her friends and how she just couldn't be friends with one of them anymore. I asked her why not. She said..."We're just too different." I said, "Abby, you're in all the same classes, you go to the same church, you're in every activity together...how are you different?" She said, "Well, he's a baptized Christian and I'm just a plain old Christian." That opened up a wonderful conversation between the two of us. She asked some incredible questions, and we sat down and discussed very simply the Gospel story. It was one of the sweetest moments as mother and daughter that we've shared. We prayed at the end, and we're going to continue to seek where God is leading her. She doesn't have a full understanding yet, and is not ready to be baptized. But in that stillness, He opened her heart to a sincere search for understanding.

That night, Ben slept soundly, we all slept 6 hours, and he was "on the mend" thereafter. He's going strong and is a part of our Monterrey Missions team this weekend--something he's worked to earn the privilege of going on all year long.

God is good. His people are pretty okay, too. Thank you for all of your phone calls, emails, prayers and concern for Ben. The nurse that administered the IV said she could tell that he was being lifted up in prayers and just reminded me that when we lift up a patient in prayer, we're also lifting up the doctors and nurses. So, she felt your prayers, too.

This week, 29 of us are headed out of the country on Mission. Please continue to pray for us, specifically for the following things:
1. Focus and Unity--that we will accomplish what God has in mind.
2. Open hearts -- we will be ministering to children in a children's camp, prisoners on death row, and we have a team painting a beautiful mural that will be a witness to the community surrounding the church.
3. Safety and good health.

Thank you for your prayers, and for all that you give week by week, not only in Worship Ministries, but in everything you do in the church and in lifting up others.

With great joy,

Emily

P.S. One more thing. I discovered one very interesting thing in my conversation with Abby that I want to share especially with her Sunday School teachers (two of whom are in the choir). She told us about her Sunday School lessons about Saul (Paul) and how Saul "saw Jesus on the road to Massachusetts." ... oh, and her "lie-ing days are mostly over".