I have not walked through the valley of the shadow of death, unless you count the time we waited to hear the results of yet another test on our newborn daughter and struggled to make the 'right' medical decision between two equally bad choices. At the time, we were able to pray with faith, "God, you have the right to make the decision." He is all-knowing, he is the one who created her, he loves unimaginably more than we do - we knew that we could trust that what he did was right and good. I hope our faith would have stood firm even if she had died, three days after being born. In the midst of it all, the greatest reality was his presence with us; God was with us.
R's getting to the age where she hovers and notices when we leave. She doesn't have a fearful temperament, just cautious, but oh the joy in her face when we play with her. I'd like to be like my daughter in this way - nothing's too scary if we're around, or as they say, to have faith like a child. She knows that if she suddenly flops into our arms, of course we'll catch her. No need to make sure we're looking. So here's a picture capturing that look of delight. May we always trust him to keep us from fearing evil when we're in a valley of darkness or death. He is with us.
I would say you guys have definitely walked in death's shadow. I'm sure your faith would have been strong had you lost Ruth. I have heard of so many tragedies that I can't imagine bearing, but God doesn't give us the strength for other peoples' tragedies. When we need the strength, His grace is sufficient. Thanks for the reminder. Ruth is adorable! I love that she signs!
ReplyDelete