Psalm 13.. How Long Lord?

These past few weeks at church we have started a new series called "Psalms: A Soundtrack For Our Lives." Our church has several pastors, and each of them has given a sermon about a specific Psalm, and has related a song to their story. You would think that since last week was about enjoying the periods of great happiness and blessing that I would have seen this week's sermon coming, but I did not. Pastor Jeanette spoke today on Psalm 13. Her message was titled "How Long, Lord?" The Psalm is from David, and in the beginning he starts out basically yelling at God and sounding so angry. He is crying out about his struggles and feels forgotten because of his situation. In the end, his tone does a complete 180 degree turn and he praises the Lord because He is good to him. 

During the entire sermon, Mark and I sat there hand in hand and had to give each other a few squeezes here and there. It really hit home for us. Ten weeks ago we began this journey with feelings of complete anger and abandonment when we found out our sweet Addy's diagnosis. My prayers for the first little bit consisted of questions like "How could you do this to us Lord?" and "Why us?!" Then, after speaking to certain people and hours upon hours of talking and crying, Mark and I realized that Adalyn was given to us for a specific purpose. He trusted us with her and knew that we would choose to carry this sweet angel, and somehow He knew that we would do whatever we could in our power to make sure Adalyn affects at least one person's life. Now, my prayers and questions consist of asking Him how we can help others using our situation. Our little girl has already changed our lives and strengthened our faith in so many ways, and if we can just bring one person to know what it means to love God then that is one more person that will get to enjoy the blessings of heaven. 

The last verse in Psalm 13 states: I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me. Because of all the blessings that God has placed in our lives over the past few months, we have realized that we are not alone and that God really is good to us. The phone calls, emails, cards, and edible arrangements that we have received were all sent from Him. There have been times when I wonder how we are going to get through this, and then I will get a message or an email saying that we are in someone's thoughts and prayers and my strength is renewed. My mother-in-law spent last week at a camp called Solid Rock, where they get children from all over Ohio who come to spend a week of worship. She told me that all of them are praying for our family and that they even prayed over a blanket that she is making for Adalyn. To know that we have people from not just all over the country, but from all ages praying for us is what gives Mark and I strength to keep walking this path on our journey.

What I want others to get from this is that no matter what season you are in, God is there every step of the way. Even in the darkest of moments, He is there to help guide you out. You are never alone in your struggles, even if you may feel it at times, because He is there waiting to give you the strength to "overcome the grease on the sides of the tunnel, so that you can get to the light" as Pastor Jeanette says. Whether you have lost a loved one, moved away from family, lost a job, or whatever other struggles you may go through, it is good to know that God is always there. 

I volunteer with our junior high ministry, called Fusion, and today we talked about Matthew 5:3. It is a verse out of the Sermon on the Mount, and it goes "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Jesus is stating that if you are grieving, He will bring you comfort in the end. I know that over the next few months we may be going through this period, but in the end, we will find comfort and good things will come from it. This is true for anyone: whatever season you are in right now, whether it be great joy or a period of mourning, God is there every step of the way to bring you comfort and happiness in the end. Jocelyn, one of Fusion's leaders, told us an Arab proverb that goes "All sunshine makes a dessert." Everyone will go through a period of "rain" in their lives, because in the end, it will bring us closer to God.

Here is all of Psalm 13:

¹ How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him, ”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Prayer request: Last week I reached out to another family who has been affected by a trisomy diagnosis. They are the Mummerts and they currently live in Virginia. My friend Claire is the one who directed me to their blog, which is about Harrison, who was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, which is similar to Trisomy 13. Ever since I introduced myself to James, he has been extremely kind and has shared Addy's story with everyone he knows. We now have more people who know Addy and who are praying for us, which means the world. The Mummerts have been another blessing from God, and I just want everyone to say a prayer for them, because they have gone through a great period of sadness over the past couple months. Thank you! Here is their blog: http://harrisonjamesmummert.com/

 

 Mark and I went to Hampton Beach yesterday and took a picture to add to our collection. It was nice to get to spend a relaxing day as a family! Plus, I found my favorite store ever: Sweet Hannah's. I got to stuff an entire box full of salt water taffy for $9. They had flavors like PB&J, cotton candy, creamsicle, and watermelon! Yum!