Saturday, January 1, 2011

An Unforgettable New Years Day (from 2008)

(I originally posted this on New Years Day 2008 after a long day. Little did we know then how miraculously God would answer our prayers. But we did believe. This is my third year to repost it.)

Usually I'm doing as little as possible on January 1; trying to avoid taking down Christmas decorations while channel surfing between bowl games. Not today.

Today, along with 3 of our church's pastors, my wife, another pastor's wife, our youngest daughter and her husband, my daughter-in-law's parents, my sister and a friend, we visited our very ill daughter-in-law at Duke University Hospital.

It's a 4 hour ride for us to get there. Yesterday she requested our elders (synonymous with pastors in our church) come to anoint her with oil, lay hands on her and pray (see James 5 in the New Testament). Word got out via the net and word of mouth and who knows how many joined us in prayer between noon and 1PM.

Tricia has posted some prayer needs on Nathan's blog site. If you want to meet some incredibly courageous young people, give it a read.

And here's my granddaughter's latest photo. She's 24 weeks in the oven and weighing about 1 lb 4oz. And she's got her mom's nose.

3 comments:

Joy said...

I remember clearly the day I stumbled upon Nathan's blog. As I read the trials that he and Tricia and their unborn baby were experiencing, my heart broke for them. Then I began to pray. Not necessarily for God to heal Tricia *that's not my decision or in my power* but for Him to do what he chose was right for this family. Before my eyes, miraculous things occured. Baby Gwyneth was born, Tricia became a mom and got her double lung transplant, their baby girl thrived and Nathan became the dad he always hoped he would be.

God is persistent. God is always here. God is good.

happy new year to your family. may God continue to bless you and your families in the coming year.

Agnes said...

I find myself thinking back to that day often; I especially remember you talking about about Ps. 23 and that "table" God prepares for us.
Too I remember flying out of NJ just before midnight in order to get to Duke and my daughter.I was removed from the line by airport security for an extra special security check; why I looked so suspicious to them I do no know but I just stood there and cried begging them to not make me miss my flight.
They then escorted me to check-in just in time for take off. Thank you to all of our elders who came there to bless our dear daughter.

Karla said...

I have read this story a number of times and am always blessed and brought to tears at the faith exhibited and how absolutely awesome our God is!!! Please keep sharing, we all need to be reminded that "Nothing is impossible with God."