November 10, 2009 Noon Update

Erika has had the A gram and is resting. Now we wait for the results.

While watching her sleep I typed out a few of my rambling thoughts which you will find below. Feel free to tune out at this point. I’ll update again later once we find out the results.

They call them bumps in the road of life. Sudden life changing event’s that sneak up on us. Why they happen isn’t always clear and at times we struggle to understand them. Although it hits us especially hard when it involves a child or young person, I have observed that it can be just as difficult for those involved regardless of age.

I have seen a lot in the past two weeks. A 17 year old boy who passed out after school and has not woken up to an elderly man alongside his unconscious wife day after day. I have had the chance to comfort a 78 year old man who has just been diagnosed with brain cancer to a young girl who has lost her mother. As we well know, pain is no respecter of persons.

I also understand that it is so easy to say “God is Good” when things are going the way we want them. But what about when things don’t go the way we think is best? I have been reminded of the below story several times through out this “bump in the road.”

Two Traveling Angels
by Unknown

“Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole on the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied..."Things aren't always what they seem".

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren't what they seem."

When we don’t understand, let us take comfort in the fact that our God is Sovereign and is all knowing. We see the little picture and he sees the big. What we see for ill he sees for good. Although, I don’t believe God puts the bumps in the road, I believe he uses them for the better good. May I always be able to say “God is Good” even when I don’t understand.