Jeremy and I were asked to give our faith testimony at a church in our area-that's a HUGE honor, and a daunting task. Our family and friends are familiar with our journey with Squishy Baby, and this church heard of her fight, and immediately began praying for her, and standing in agreement that God would take charge of her heart, and the repairs would be done.
Anyway, Jeremy said they wanted to hear about how our faith in God held us and carried us through her diagnosis and first heart repair. He was asking me which Scriptures we (meaning I) stood on, as his testimony through it all was "God will heal her in His way." I, on the other hand, found my five Scriptures, and held tight to them. I blogged about a few of them in January, when I was really struggling with the message of "if you want your healing, believe for it, and claim it." (http://utphallfamily.blogspot.com/2014_01_01_archive.html)
The beginning of my story is this: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart..."Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT). God knew what the enemy was going to do to Asher before she was born, before I was born. We know that He couldn't intercede, and prevent it, but He knew that we would be strong enough in faith to handle the news when it came. I thank Him every day that He chose me to be her mother, and put her in my life, heart condition and all. Her diagnosis stretched my faith, and I often wonder what could have happened if she had been born to someone with less faith, or less ability to handle this kind of diagnosis. God knew what He was doing when He sent her to us.
Psalm 127:3 "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him." (NLT)
I know that all my children are gifts. I also know that as a parent, there is no way I'd give my kids a gift, knowing that if something were to happen, I wouldn't be able or willing to do whatever it took to repair it. God knew the day would come when we'd learn of Ash's condition, and He was waiting for us to turn to Him so He could work his wonders on her.
Psalm 147:3 "He heals the broken hearts and binds up their sorrows." (Aramaic Bible in Plain English) At the end of her surgery to repair the Coarctation of the Aorta, I stumbled across a vendor that makes stuffed animals that have the same scars and repairs that the child does, Healing Helpers (www.healinghelpers147.com). I was not even aware of this verse until I started corresponding with her to order Ash's Helper. God is in the healing business, still. Asher may not have had the supernatural healing that we are told we're supposed to believe for, but I know that God gave gifts to the surgeon that operated on her, and all the staff that handled her care, to repair the issue that was life threatening. That's good enough for me. There was such a HUGE sigh of relief when she came out of surgery, then absolute wonder when she began to put on weight, and her skin tone turned pink, instead of the pale and ashen tone that she had been leading up to surgery. There was the emotional healing, too; I was not angry and bitter and scared anymore, and the first time I saw her post-surgery was the last time I cried over her condition. God had done exactly what we had been believing for-He healed her in His way.
"Even when the sky is falling
I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do"-Kutless
