Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering Gods grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 4:9-10

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Simple Pleasures and What Turns Out to be a Testimony, of sorts

Joining up with A Collection of This and That for today's Simple Pleasure:









Despite the challenges of raising a rambunctious and energetic 4 year old, and there are some, it remains one of my greatest pleasures and greatest treasures....and greatest sorrow.  This precious little person was a later-in-life gift from God - given after a time of great sorrow.  Each little challenge we meet shows us we are capable of handling it even when we are at a place where we feel we couldn't take any more.  God proves His never-ending love by never giving us more than we can handle.  And I speak from a place of some experience in that, having gone through the loss of a child.  At the time, we wondered if we would ever see the light of day again.  By the grace of God we survived one of the most difficult things any parent can experience.  And, do you know what the miracle ending is?  We were battling unbelief and this loss, this devastatingly painful loss, incredibly began to pivot us from our self-destructive path and lead us down a new path...one of truth and love.  A path which we couldn't see at the time and has taken the better part of six years to manifest.  The Lord knew and used this horrific time to enrich our lives, to break us and make us usable so He could work through us.  He tore us down so He could build us up again and give us the most precious gift He could, next to salvation.  At the time we asked, what could God possibly hope to accomplish by taking away our son?  Does He think we'll go running to Him when He ignored all our "prayers" for healing?  And of course we didn't but that seed of truth was there even when we outright denied it.  And lo and behold, four months after the loss of little O, we became pregnant again.  It wasn't supposed to happen!  We had just made the decision that it might be OK if it happened again but it wasn't supposed to be so quick - literally within a month of saying "well, if we do, then we do but we're not going to make it a thang" and we were told, "Hey, guess what?  Did you know..."  Talk about a miracle!  We barely had time to catch our breaths and pull ourselves together when this happened.  In fact, I'm pretty sure we would have wallowed longer if it didn't.

So believe me when I say it's been a long, painful yet wonderful road.  Six years later our lives are completely different now.  We have a new home, a new church, hubby has a new job and we've both been given a thirst for God.  Our wild man will be five this summer and hubby and I are constantly surprised by how much time has flown by since that tragic period in our lives.  We wouldn't be in this place without that loss...a place of brokenness and surrender, crying out to God knowing He is our only lifeline.  Little O's life, crushingly short, for only 40 days, showed us ultimate grace, infinite love and ultimately revealed the face of Jesus.

XXOO

10 comments:

  1. Hi Anxious Knitter,
    I'm glad you have a happy almost 6yo to share your life.
    It is very special that from earlier tragedy, you have survived and evolved into a happy family.
    God Bless
    Barb from Australia

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  2. Thank you so much for sharing your heart. I know deeply that suffering is never without point and only comes in love for love from the True Lover. Be encouraged in your rich lives together.

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  3. This is more than just a simple pleasure...it a Bravo God moment. He is just precious...four years old are so wonderful...my last, at age 45, turned 5 just recently.
    Enjoy, enjoy!!

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  4. Thank you so much for your kind comments! It's an example of one more thing we were really blessed with during our sorrow...the kindness and love of people we didn't even know :)

    XO Ann

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  5. The broken places are exactly where we can see through to the face of Jesus.
    Your testimony is so precious, my friend!
    So very beautiful..
    God bless you and your lovely little 'wild man' :-)
    grace & joy..Trish

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  6. What a special post about a special child. Thanks for sharing this today.

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  7. Thank you so much for sharing this very special personal testimony. Yes, raising children is one of the greatest simple pleasures there is!

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  8. Thank you for sharing your testimony. This is one of the most beautiful testimony I have heard. I know what it means to be taken down to absolutely nothing and then the Lord giving life. You put it so well into words that I felt my heart stop. You are sooooooooo blessed with this child. It just sings of praise and glory to our Lord. I really hope to get to know you better via blogging. Your post was such a encouragement to me today, thank you.

    PS: Your simple pleasure was my favorite this week. ((hugs))

    Blessings in Him<><
    -Mary

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  9. I completely agree! My kids have brought me my "greatest pleasures and greatest treasures....and greatest sorrow." Very insightful words!

    A perfect simple pleasure!

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  10. Beautifully said Anne. It is so amazing as to the gifts we are given during very trying times in our lives. Enjoy every moment with Wild Man. He is so darn cute.
    xxxx

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Books on Tap for 2011

  • Knit Together - Debbie Macomber
  • Captured by Grace - Dr. David Jeremiah
  • Murder Most Foul - A Collection of Great Crime Stories
  • Fireproof - Eric Wilson
  • There's Something About Christmas - Debbie Macomber
  • Questioning Evangelism - Randy Newman
  • Murder Uncorked - Michele Scott
  • A Sacred Sorrow - Michael Card
  • Prayer: Does it Make any Difference? - Philip Yancey
  • Get Out of That Pit - Beth Moore

Books Read in 2011

  • What a Sista Should Do - Tiffany L. Warren
  • 90 Minutes in Heaven - Don Piper
  • Forgotten God - Francis Chan
  • The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
  • Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris
  • Shadowfever - Karen Marie Moning
  • Chill Factor - Sandra Brown
  • Heaven Has a Blue Carpet - Sharon Niedzinski
  • Dreamfever - Karen Marie Moning
  • Wednesday Sisters - Meg Waite Clayton
  • Stealing Home - Sherryl Woods
  • Bound for Murder - Laura Childs
  • Bloodfever - Karen Marie Moning
  • Faefever - Karen Marie Moning
  • Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning
  • Under Her Skin - Susan Mallery
  • The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan
  • No Wonder They Call Him Saviour - Max Lucado
  • I Still Dream About You - Fannie Flagg
  • I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore
  • The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan
  • Spider Bones - Kathy Reichs
  • A Thread So Thin - Marie Bostwick
  • The Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan
  • The Search - Nora Roberts
  • The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan
  • Wicked Appetite - Janet Evanovich
  • The Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan
  • Awakened - PC & Kristen Cast
  • The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
  • Photo Finished - Larua Childs
  • Keepsake Crimes - Laura Childs
  • Sizzling Sixteen - Janet Evanovich
  • The Icing on the Cupcake - Jennifer Ross
  • Fleece Navidad - Maggie Sefton
  • Dyer Consequences - Maggie Sefton
  • The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree - Susan Wittig Albert
  • Heaven Has a Blue Carpet - Sharon Niedzinski
  • Dreamfever - Karen Marie Moning

Books Read in 2010

  • The Yada Yado Prayer Group - Netta Jackson
  • Silver Borne - Patricia Briggs
  • The Hole in Our Gospel - Richard Stearns
  • A Winter Marriage - Kerry Hardie
  • So Long, Insecurity - Beth Moore
  • Knit the Season - Kate Jacobs
  • Dead and Berried - Karen MacInerney
  • Murder on the Rocks - Karen MacInerney
  • where do i go - Netta Jackson
  • be sweet - diane hunt
  • The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
  • Raven - Allison Van Deipen
  • Push (Precious) - sapphire
  • Faces of the Gone - Brad Parks
  • The Lace Reader - Brunonia Barry
  • Burning Lamp - Amanda Quick
  • Fired Up - Jayne Ann Krentz
  • The School of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister
  • Matters Arising - Sarah Harrison
  • The Sheen on the Silk - Anne Perry
  • I Saw the Lord - Anne Graham Lotz
  • The Dangerous Protector - Janet Chapman
  • The Seduction of His Wife - Janet Chapman
  • Re-reading all the Tintin graphic novels - Herge
  • The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen
  • the last time i saw you - Elizabeth Berg
  • Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen
  • Wild Ride - Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer
  • Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris
  • The Girl Who Chased the Moon - Sarah Addison Allen
  • Grave Secret - Charlaine Harris
  • Crawl Space - Sarah Graves
  • The Honey Thief - Elizabeth Graver
  • The Otherworldlies - Jennifer Anne Kogler
  • Saving CeeCee Honeycutt - Beth Hoffman
  • A Face at the Window - Sarah Graves
  • Draycott Eternal - Christina Skye
  • Shelter Mountain - Robin Carr
  • Virgin River - Robyn Carr
  • Death by Cashmere - Sally Goldenbaum
  • An Ice Cold Grave - Charlaine Harris
  • Grave Surprise - Charlaine Harris
  • Grave Sight - Charlaine Harris