God's sufficient grace

Everyone has times of struggles. Times of pain and suffering, grief and sorrow. But for some, there are also more continual, day-to-day trials that stay with us, no matter how often we might pray that God would intervene and remove these burdens from our hearts.**

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, the Apostle Paul spoke of his own "thorn in the flesh," noting how he had prayed not once, but three times for it to be removed. God, however, wasn’t pleased for it to depart from him completely. Instead, He gave the assurance of His grace, when He replied, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
The Lord’s words in this verse have been a great source of comfort for God’s children throughout time. Without question, they have been for those who find themselves struggling with their own "thorns." **

Yesterday, my mother and I got a chance to go visit with the Ballard family at Iowa's Children's Hospital. As we walked through the gigantic hospital, I was struck with humility by "thorns" affecting so many families, especially with young children. We so often can't understand God's plans and it leaves us feelings out of control. As I walked into Lauren's home, my heart felt crushed. I again asked God why, and without a blink God seemed to answer me " Jessie, I am loving and just".

The only thing I could say over and over again, was I can't even imagine what the are going through. Most times, that phrase just ran circles in my head. To see your 3 yr old beautiful daughter laying there with tubes coming for her, most of her hair gone, he little body so frail, and the only thing that seems to comfort her is to continually moan in pain. The is nothing that can prepare you for that. We as parents send all our time protecting our children and to be completely at God's mercy..ah...again, I just can't imagine. As I thought about it though, we really aren't in control of our children's well-being, God's ultimate plan is always made complete.

James, her father, has been given the option to work 4 (10 hr) days and have Wed. off. He has been working from 4am until 1:30pm and then leaves to drive an hour to Iowa City and stay the night gets up at 2am to go back to work. The sleeping conditions are ideal. James is in the recliner in the corner, Sarah on the "couch" and baby Tre in a portable swing on the floor. God has extended a lot of grace to them right now, though at times it seems to wear thin.

As for Lauren, she continues to be on Mophrine for the pain, and her fever seems to be persisting. The doctor have her on 3 different kinds of antibiotics and have the drain tube coming from her chest. Today, Sarah said that the chemo can't start until the fever comes down and that the tumor is still producing fluid.

The prognosis from the doctors is grim. They have given her a 45% chance of survival but we know that God can provide a miracle. So we are pleading with him to spare her life and to make himself known to all those who have been taking care of her.

We ask you as dear family and friends to please pray for God's hand to heal her little body, that he would give her family strength and grace, that His mercies would be made new everyday.

Maybe you can pray about how God can use you to help this family. This week you could cut out your weekly coffee, or eat out one less time. There has been so many expenses with travel, food, meds during this time. If you would be interested please leave a comment and I'll let you know how.

Thank you for your love and concern for this young family.

Psalm 9:9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble

**keptbygrace.com info