Tuesday, August 01, 2006

God is SO good!

Great news, y'all! Amy is in remission. Praise the Lord! I'm so excited for her and her family! If I hadn't been raised a Baptist, I'd be dancing!

Thank you all for your prayers for me and my girls. I nearly 'bout cried myself sick all the way home Sunday, and I looked a sight Monday (had the day off work, so I didn't scare anyone), but I'm ok now. For the most part. I know God has it all under control, even if He won't take my advice. My older daughter hates me, but I love her, and He loves her even more, so I'll let Him deal with her (as if I really have a choice!) Amen? The same goes for my younger daughter, except that she still kinda likes me. I guess. It's a good sign if the daggers aren't flaming, isn't it?

Now I know y'all think I've blown a gasket or something, but I assure you I am not under the influence of any drug, nor have I gone bonkers. I'm praising the Lord that He hears our prayers and is faithful to answer according to His will. My pity party is over, people, at least until I find something else to whine about. See, I learned something this weekend. I am my kids' mom. Meaning that they, in all their selfish glory, are just like me. Didn't I tell them that life is hard? Didn't I tell them they can't always have their way? Why yes, yes I did. Didn't I ask God to use me as an example for them? Didn't I mean it when I prayed "Whatever it takes, Lord."? You betcha, I did! Then I have no right to complain about how He sees fit to answer, do I? I should be rejoicing in my sorrow. I should be thanking Him that He is giving me a workout, adding resistance to show me how much stronger I've become by relying on Him. My abs may be soft, but my faith is rock solid. Hoo-yah! (or whatever it is they say)

I still covet your prayers, of course, because my girls are under attack. They aren't keeping company with saints and are blind to the enemy's deception. Pray that their eyes will be opened and that they will be delivered from the enemy.

In other news, I got a call from one of Lindsey's friends here who was terribly disappointed that she isn't coming back as promised. This is a girl for whom I have a burden to minister to (pardon the extra preposition) because she is without a mother, and her father is raising 4 children on his own. He is a Christian, and we met through our daughters. Long story short, they're having some disciplinary problems which he and I had discussed after an incident with our girls. He was sure that I wouldn't want her around Lindsey, but I let him know that I would be more than happy to have her here anytime in hopes that Lindsey and I could be a positive influence on her. I had told Lindsey at the time that this could very well be our purpose here. Her story is that her dad kicked her out and she's staying with a friend. I haven't yet spoken with her dad to get the rest of the story, but I have emailed him to let him know that I'm here and available to help if he deems it necessary. My husband is opposed to having her here for reasons I won't go into, but my heart is open to her whether my home is or not. That remains to be seen if/when I hear from her dad. Pray for guidance in this area. I've never been a foster parent, and it may not come to that, but my burden is to foster a reconciliation between father and daughter.

Pray on, y'all!

10 comments:

boomama said...

Love your heart, Brenda.

Your post reminded me of a song we sing in church:

"I'm trading my sorrows
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down
For the joy of the Lord..."

I'll keep praying for y'all....

Dawn said...

God does work in mysterious ways. Check out mugwumpmom 3 Forward 3 Back (don't know how to do the link thing yet) for yesterday. Do you have her? She did a fabulous study on suffering yesterday.

Praise God for Amy's good news!

Grafted Branch said...

You're making me laugh in the midst of this! You're wonderful.

I'm so happy you posted about Amy! That's great news.

Randi said...

I have been following Amy's story for a little while now and I am thrilled to hear that she has recieved wonderful news!

I am in the midst of some kid-struggles too! Wow, the teen years can be "heavy". I am in the same place where I have to trust that God loves my daughter and He desires to see her following Him. I sense that God is working because she is more open to Him than she has been in a while. We have had to make some hard decisions abuot friends/activities that she doesn't like but to continue to allow her to do those things would be destructive for sure.

God wounds but He also binds up and heals!

i hope this isn't too much info for a first time comment, my heart is just heavy with similar things this morning and I thought I would share.

Barb said...

I'm glad you're starting to sound like your old self, Brenda. Means you've accepted things aren't going to go the way you wanted them to with Lindsey and Sarah. I'm still convinced they'll eventually wake up -- it's just not going to be as soon as you'd hoped. And I hope Lindsey's friend's father sees the wisdom in letting you help his daughter. These are the tough years - this is a really difficult age - but I promise you, it gets better.

Lori said...

Praise God!! You make me giggle through your trials. May God Bless you.

Brenda said...

Randi, thank you for sharing. I'll add your name to my prayer list. I started noticing a difference in my older daughter last year when she lived with me. It wasn't a drastic change, but it was enough to confirm that God was at work in her. She even acknowledged it! Don't give in, and don't give out, but give it all to Him.

Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

Your girls don't hate you. They just think they do. :>) I know this is very, very hard for you. Keep the faith and just give it to God. That's all you can do. It seems so easy, but it really is so hard. Just cry and let it out and just tell Him your heart and your pain. He will always listen.

Anonymous said...

You have ourcontinued prayers. He is faithful, as you well know. We are called to bring the sacrifice of praise, even in the midst of our sorrows.

Vicki said...

You bless me, Brenda. I'll keep your girls in my prayers. I have a son and daughter who need to get back with the Lord--my heart longs to see their return.