He turns sin into strength

today's meditation
This morning I copied the following into my journal while my daughter Faith and I were in the waiting room at the doctor's office. I'm glad I had chosen this particular book to throw in my purse because I had a hard time deciding which book to take with me (I'm juggling three at the moment). I'm right there with this quote.

"Our checkered careers, our utter sinfulness and degradation, our falling into all manner of vain seeking, become by the grace of God on the cross and in the resurrection, the inevitable writing of wisdom on our hearts. Our hurts and sins have become our schooling and preparation. Would that we could learn purity the easy way. Praise God that His mercy is such that He turns the depth of our sin into the strength of ministry. We're not proud of our wrongdoing, but the sweet grace of God is such that in the end we thank Him for it. Our sins have rather become our training for high calling than our disqualification." ~ John Sanford, "The Elijah Task"

Living in gratitude for being a rescued one...

hope

Firstly, thanks to all of you who sent up prayers for my brother and his wife, on the loss of their baby. Apparently my brother can already say that Bella has been a blessing in their life and did not leave this world without having an affect on it. It has brought he and Marissa closer together. I was so glad to hear this, because something like this has just as much potential to drive a couple apart.

My brother wrote a letter to Bella that was read at her funeral. I guess many men have gone into "silent" mode after such a tragedy. My brother has been a tower of strength and has probably surprised himself.

As heartbreaking as this loss is to them, they are already talking about trying again once they get the green light. This shows their strength and courage.

I'm sure they will always feel the loss, and have many miles to walk before their hearts don't feel constantly raw. At the same time, I pray that Bella some day has a younger brother or sister.

Thanks again for praying.