"My power works best in weakness."

It has now been a full 7 days since middle brother's bout with the stomach bug, and N continues to show no signs of having caught it. If you're reading this, then I know you're doing so because you're thinking of N, and praying for him. And so I thank you from the depths of my heart for covering our baby in prayers, because without a doubt, I know that prayers are being heard and answered.

I read a blurb this morning from Tim and Kathy Keller that said, "While sin blocks our relationship with God, suffering can deepen it." In Corinthians 12:9 it says, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." This morning I was reflecting on the fact that in the past month and a half or so, every single person in our family has been ill, including myself. I think I buckled under the stress and my health started to give, then dear hubby got it, and then 2 brothers passed the stomach bug from school to one another. Miraculously, though, our one child that has a compromised immune system that ultimately got weak enough to forego one of his chemo treatments last week, has stayed healthy. And so as I read that passage in Corinthians I understood that in our moments of weakness, this is how God makes his presence known. There is no other explanation aside from the fact that God has his hand of protection over N, thus showing me once again a power that has no boundaries and endless possibilities.

I think human nature is to take things for granted, the way our kids take so much of what they have for granted because they just don't get how privileged they are compared to so many out there. In the same way, I know I don't really "get" many of the blessings in my life, and so I understand how suffering can deepen our relationship with God. When things are well, my personal confession is that I at times forget to give thanks, and I tend to ignore or simply fail to recognize the way God intricately works in our lives on a daily basis. But in suffering.... it brings everything into perfect focus. If this were a tv show, I'd cue the Casting Crowns song right about now-- "Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place." Truth.






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