There was a day...

There was a day; not so very long ago. On October 12, 2007 my life changed forever. On this Friday, I woke up just like every other Friday. I woke Sawyer and then Carys. When I changed her pull-up there were clots of blood inside. She was happy, cheerful, and anxious to play with her baby brother. The blood clots confirmed that the blood we had seen days earlier was something serious...but what?

Justin came home from work, we called the doctor, and upon his advice headed for Children's ER in Birmingham. Doctors came in. They drew blood. They pushed on her belly. They asked questions. Nothing seemed wrong. More doctors came in. They pushed on her belly...still, nothing. We waited. They made us an appointment with on of the top pediatric urologists in the country...for two weeks later. They prescribed more antibiotics and prepared us to head home. At the last minute they decided that since we would need an abdominal ultra-sound before she saw the urologists, and radiology had and opening, they would let us go upstairs for the ultra-sound before we left.

Justin went into the waiting room with his dad to tell him we were going home. I took Carys by the hand and let her up to radiology. She laid on the table and the tech began scanning her belly. I will never forget the smile on the technician's face as she looked at us and said, "I am going to go get my doctor and let him take a look at you."

I am no doctor. However, God blessed me with deductive reasoning skills. This was the one moment in my life I wished that I was ignorant. In that moment, if I knew one thing it was that radiologist read film. They do not examine patients...unless...

He entered the room. A doctor with and Indian accent can be difficult to understand. However, I had no trouble understanding his words, "Which side is it on?"

It...the word that changed our lives.

We spent the next year looking at it, thinking about it, praying about it.

It...in case you have never met us...was a tumor. A tumor that had over taken my 3-year-old daughter's right kidney, attached to her liver, grown out of her renal vein and into her vena cava, and metastasized to her right lung...It.

I don't know that I have ever really told the story of that day. You have probably read or heard tell of all of the events between that day and this. If not I will give you a quick recap. She was diagnosed, treated with poison (aka. chemo), treated with the stuff that is a by-product of nuclear power plants (radiation), received who knows how many people's blood and platelets, and was cared for by the most wonderfully amazing people on the planet. People all around the country interceded for her. Went before God and pleaded for healing for Carys, for strength for her family, for peace for us all.

He heard. He listened. He healed.

I know that as I type this there are those out there who are hurting. I do not write this this for pity. I don't write it so that when you see her picture below you will gawk at how beautiful she is. I write this so that you may know...

I just described one of the few truly bad days of my life. You must know what brought me from that day to this one. It was HIM.

Although I fail many time each day, I strive to live so that everyone knows what God had done for me. It is hard to explain but the best thing that God has ever done for me is not healing my daughter. The greatest thing is the work He had started in me. In the fall of 1991, I accepted His free gift of salvation. It was free to me, but only because the price was paid in full at Calvary.

We all have our October 12ths...our days that will live in infamy. If you are so blessed that this day has not yet come for you (and I promise the encouragement is coming)...know that the day is coming. However, you do not have to face the storm alone. 2 Samuel 22:2 says, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer." He is, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

If yesterday, today, or tomorrow turns out to be your Oct 12th...I pray you will seek refuge in the One who has already made The Way. I pray you will find yourself grounded in the Rock of His Word. And, I pray you will find strength in the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Tonight, I pray.