Because He Lives

A while back, my brother called me and said he wanted to pass on a couple of things to remember on harder days.  First, he wanted me to take a look at the lyrics of the song, "Because He Lives."  The lyrics are as follows: 

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;

He came to love, heal and forgive;

He lived and died to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives! 

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride and joy he gives;

But greater still the calm assurance:

This child can face uncertain days because He Lives! 

And then one day, I'll cross the river,

I'll fight life's final war with pain;

And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives! 

Chorus

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!

 http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bill_gaither/

Josh wanted me to look carefully at the second verse.  At a time when we were uncertain about Harper's future, reading those lyrics meant the world to me.  I still regularly think about the words to this song.  Harper will have many uncertain days in her future on this earth.  As her mom, it is extremely calming to know that, because of Jesus's sacrifice, she can face all of the uncertainty and look forward to a future in Heaven with no pain or sickness.

What's even greater than just the second verse is the meaning of the whole song.  We can face the world and everything in the world "because HE LIVES!!"  I don't know about you, but I am so excited about the time when all the suffering and pain in the world will lose to a greater victory than any of us can imagine!  God's blessings and final reward for us will be more amazing and more beautiful than our wildest dreams.  All because He loves us that much!  

The second thing Josh wanted me remember on hard days is something that someone told him when his girls were in NICU for so long.  He said to always remember that others are praying.  On days when I feel like I can't pray anymore or I don't know what to say; someone else is saying that prayer for me.  He told me there would be days where I would be so exhausted that I wouldn't have the energy or the words to pray.  Someone else would be there praying for me.  

In his infinite wisdom and love for us, God set up a beautiful way for us to help each other.  He set up a way for us to bless each other.  The most important thing we can do for each other is to pray.  As someone who has been blessed beyond imagine by other's prayers for my family, I am so glad God gave us the avenue of prayer!  I am thankful God gave us a HUGE Christian family and tells us to "bear one another's burdens."  I don't know that I will ever be able to give back as much as I have been blessed by others' prayers and concern for my family.  I do know this:  I will try every day to pay those blessings forward!  I will be working hard to pray for others, especially when they are so uncertain of their future that they don't know what to say in their own prayers.  

While we are striving for the rewards of eternity, God still blesses us richly on this earth.  Even on the toughest of days, we have the certainty of an amazing future, and we have the beautiful blessing of prayer!  What a loving and wise God we serve!  

My God is So Big!

My God is so BIG, 

so STRONG, 

and so MIGHTY!

There's NOTHING my God cannot Do!

    These are the words to one of my favorite children's VBS songs.  I've sung this song countless times, both as a child growing up and as an adult teaching a toddler class or helping with children's functions at church.  What a simple, yet amazing concept to teach our children!  Unfortunately, I often found myself singing the words to the song without really taking them into account in my life.

    Lately, however, the words to this song have been very important in my life.  You see, during our family Christmas, we had a devotional.  We sang a combination of devotional and children's songs, and my almost 3 year old nephew asked if we could sing this song.  As I held my baby girl and sang, tears all the sudden started filling my eyes.  My daughter, who was born 5 weeks early, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at 3 weeks old.  Because of her health condition and cold and flu season hitting hard this year, she and I have been unable to attend worship with our church family.  As my daughter listened to congregational singing for the first time in her life, I realized just how BIG my God actually is!  He blessed my husband and me with a family who prays fervently for us.  He blessed us with a church family who stepped in when Harper's medical bills seemed to be a bigger mountain than we could handle.  He blessed us with a beautiful baby girl whose smile could make even the toughest heart melt into a pile of goo!  He blessed us with the responsibility of caring for a sick daughter.  

    Since Christmas, this is usually the first song I sing to my daughter when she starts fussing during her Respiratory Therapy. She often looks me in the eye and stops fussing as I sing this song.  Sometimes, she even "sings" with me!  What a way to lift my spirits when I'm angry or sad about Harper's CF!   

     As I look at the world around me, I see many big issues to face.  I see families struggling with the loss of loved ones.  I see individuals facing cancer as their families watch with breaking hearts.  I see Satan tearing society apart with his games.  As horrible as all of these things are, I see a GOD WHO IS BIGGER! For me, right now, that is all I need to know...God is Bigger than my struggles.  It is so comforting to know that God's love and grace and mercy are much bigger than anything I can imagine facing.  On days when I feel too small to handle the pressures that seem so large, I just have to remember that my God is bigger!  On days when it seems like the dark clouds of the world are growing larger and larger, I just have to remember that God is Bigger!  His strength is sufficient.  The God who created the mountains and the oceans is the God who is watching over me. What an awesome reminder!

      From now on, I want to strive to follow the wise words of a bumper sticker I saw a while back:  "Rather than telling God how big your problems are; tell your problems how big your God is!"  When I remember that, it makes everything else seem so small!  I'm thankful that I serve such a Strong and Mighty God!