Praying for Peace

Sunday, March 21, 2010

from sarah beth, september 2007:"The peace the Lord has given me has been one of those “beyond words” experiences. The love that is surrounding me by my family, friends and church family is by far one of the most humbling and gracious gifts that the Lord has given me. I certainly do not deserve such love, but am thankful none the less that I am surrounded by it."

then and now, sarah beth is surrounded by love. and we are praying for her peace. she is working very hard to breathe, without much physical reward for her effort. she is asleep. today, her eyes opened up a little now and then for a second or two when one of us was talking to her, but for the most part she is sleeping. we love her so. and our heart's desire would be that the Lord would heal her body on this earth so that she could stay with us. so that we could watch her live out all of the dreams she had for her life before the day she found a lump in her breast. but she gave up her dreams for herself in exchange for God's dreams for her a long time ago. and since it does not look as though it is the Lord's plan for sarah to live on here, our prayer has been that He would grant her peace, ease her suffering and let her come to Him. to begin REAL life. to look into the face of Jesus and know that what she has surrendered for His glory was not wasted. because her efforts for the Lord are NOT wasted. they have produced (and are still producing) much fruit for Him. she had let Him make use of her life in the way He saw fit - in the ways that would mean the most for His kingdom.i want to share with you a portion of a message greg and i received tonight from a dear friend. he said, "God IS the Grand Weaver. He has a beautiful, amazing, wonderful, AWEsome tapestry designed that is our lives. And even if we never get to see it, EVEN if no one recognizes it, we know it IS good and for His glory. But it's great when God does decide to reveal to us a piece of the tapestry, to see the wonderful colors and design that He has made--when we focus in on one section we remember that part did NOT look like it could ever be something beautiful, but now seeing and trusting then that it would be--because HE is GOD."who but Almighty God could take cancer and bring beauty from it? NONE but God. we can trade in the ugliness and hurt this life hands to us and He will hand it back to us, having made it beautiful instead. sarah beth yielded her life to the will of God, not sure of what it would hold for her. the beauty He has brought from her surrendered life has been handed back to her as He has grown her into an even more amazing woman of God than she was when she began this journey. it's been handed to us as we watched her grow in Him and as we've been privileged to make this journey with her. He continues to bring beauty from her life as He uses her to impact so many, even in her last hours. beauty for ashes.Isaiah 61:3 "and provide for those who grieve in Zion...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."we are trusting in God to prove faithful in His care for sarah beth. and trusting Him for the grace to walk through what is coming - the same grace He's given us throughout our entire lives as His own. i've said it before but it bears repeating - He will not leave us to do this alone.

continue in prayer.

thank you so, so much.

leigh ann