Sarah's Story~ Postscript 2

With the telling of Sarah's story of cancer and the miracle that God gave us four years ago, she and I have had occasion to spend lots of time talking about it. Even with our happy ending, the entire thing was very emotional and difficult to relive for a long, long time afterward. Four years, it appears, is just the right amount of time to allow to pass to make sharing a possibility. God didn't just heal Sarah of cancer. It seems that in the four years that have passed, He has allowed most of the pain that we endured through it all to heal, as well. And what is left is the wonder of it all. Our lives were forever changed. Our relationship with the Lord was eternally altered, and not just because He was so good and sweet to us and gave us the best possible outcome. One of the most precious things to come from our ordeal was how we came to know and love the Lord through the darkest of hours, and the unspeakable love and comfort He gave when all we had was Him. You get closest to the Lord in those dark hours, not when you find yourself on the mountaintop. We have had what some would say was more than our share of both. Wonderful and horrifying. Amazing and devastating. And we can tell you that you truly learn to love Him and abide in Him only through the horrifying and devastating. Knowing that strengthens you and makes you less prone to run from Him the next time your life falls apart. But the thing still to talk about is an almost taboo question for Christians. Yet I know as a counselor the question is asked almost always by survivors. Survivors of disease. Survivors of war. Survivors of abuse. Why? Why do so many others die, and God allowed me to live? Why? Well intending Christians may dismiss the question or react as though the question should not be asked. Like we should not question God. I've mentioned this before. As a parent, I know that there are different ways for a child to question a parent. There's the rebellious teenager, pushing, raising the proverbial fist into the air, questioning why. And then there's the crying child with a bellyache, crawling up onto their momma's lap while asking why it hurts so bad. I was always really good at telling the difference. I think God is, too. This is not a rebellious heart questioning why God would allow such a thing to happen. This is a sweet and humble heart asking why God would choose to spare me when others have died. God knows. And He understands. Often I don't expect an answer for such things until heaven. I probably won't even care then. I probably won't bother to ask. That's okay. I don't need to know, if that is God's answer to me now. I have no problem letting God be God. Big God, little me. But then, occasionally, God gives us the answer right here in this life. And for Sarah's question, we've received the answer as her story has been told through the blog. Sarah's story about our amazing God has traveled all over the world through the magic of the internet. It has reached many thousands. It continues to be reposted and God continues to get the glory. I have received amazing messages from all over the globe. It's so very incredible. There is no mistaking this. It's all God and He gets all of the praise. John 11:4 - "He (Jesus) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." What a mighty God we serve!