A Little Girl's Heart

I am five months pregnant with our daughter, Lily Anastasia. She is growing. She is warm and happy. We found out on Monday that Lily has a heart defect. One of the chambers of her heart is too small. We meet with a cardiologist on January 3rd. Pray for Lily's healing. God has knit her together so intricately. He doesn't make mistakes. His ways are perfect. He is faithful to maintain His promises. He is able to heal Lily and to weave these circumstances into a beautiful telling of His grace and glory. My daughter's heart is defective. So is mine. She is snuggled safe from the implications of her ailment until she is born. I spend so many of my days oblivious to the ailments of my own heart and soul. Lily has a gracious Father who loves and cares for her deeply. So do I. Thank you Father that you do not abandon us in our frailty or resign us to our ailing sinful state. You have brought me healing and redeemed my life for your purposes. Heal Lily and use her tiny heart and soul for your renown. Our hope lives on....

My Hope Lives On
by Andrew Peterson

"I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling
In the darkness with the Fear, in the darkness with the Fear
But he met the morning wounded with a blessing
So in the night my hope lives on

When Elisha woke surrounded by the forces
Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God
He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses
So in the night my hope lives on

I see the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding
And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan
For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding
Still in the night my hope lives on

I see the armies of the enemy approaching
And the people driven, trembling, to the shore
But a doorway through the waters now is opening
So in the night my hope lives on

Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness,
Too ashamed to lift his head--but if he could lift his head
He would see his father running from a distance
In the night my hope lives on

I can see the crowd of men retreating
As he stands between the woman and their stones
And if mercy in his holy heart is beating
Then in the night my hope lives on

I remember how they scorned the son of Mary
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb
He was beaten, he was crucified, and buried
And in the night, my hope was gone

But the rulers of earth could not control Him
They did not take his life--he laid it down
All the chains of death could never hope to hold Him
So in the night my hope lives on

I can see the Son of Man descending
And the sword He swings is brighter than the dawn
And the gates of Hell will never stand against Him
So in the night my hope lives on"