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Sep 07, 2021 08:00am

Reflect, Remember, Celebrate

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The word tumor took my breath away.

I had watched the little bump on my son’s head grow larger and larger over the last two months, yet that word never invaded my thoughts. But there I stood, with my five-month-old son and a doctor explaining, It’s a tumor. We’ll have to remove it.

Two weeks later I handed my son over to the nurse with one more kiss. One more prayer. One more, I love you. Then Luke and I walked hand in hand down the hall as I stared at the floor choking back tears. Be strong, I whispered in my head. Tears won’t help now.

Those days in between the diagnosis and surgery gave us plenty of time to think, to wonder, to ask . . .

We prayed like we’ve never prayed before. We begged and pleaded with God. Please God, heal him. Please God let this be benign. Please protect him. Bring him through this.

Some nights, Luke and I would sit shoulder to shoulder on the couch, taking turns asking each other, “Are you okay?” We felt helpless.

We arrived at the hospital the morning of surgery expecting a four-hour procedure, so you can imagine our surprise when doctors met us in the waiting room just 2 1/2 hours after our boy went back.

The report they brought with them: Benign. The tumor was benign. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or scream Hallelujah! My son’s going to be okay!!!

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

God filled the days following surgery with grace like only He provides. This happy boy never needed pain medicine. He recovered like a champ, and fittingly his name means “spiritual champion.”

I tell you this story because that baby turned ten this week. Double digits!

AND I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF REMEMBERING GOD’S BLESSINGS.

. . . Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: ‘With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.’” Exodus 13:9 (NLT)

When God freed the Israelites from Egypt He told them to celebrate their escape every year. God called the annual festival a “visible sign . . . like a mark branded” on their hands or foreheads.

The future remains unpredictable, but in the midst of our ever-changing circumstances, one thing will never change: God. God is unchanging and unfailing.

WHEN WE REMEMBER GOD’S PROMISES AND RECALL HIS FAITHFULNESS, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD IN FAITH, NOT FEAR.

The same God who led the Israelites out of Egypt called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

Has God freed you or rescued you from something? Answered a prayer? Heard a cry of your heart? Declare His praises!

Today, take a minute and remember. Remember God’s past faithfulness.

It may be something as simple as God giving you a happy baby when all the other kids need baths and you’re running solo. Celebrate it!

Or maybe a tank of gas lasted miles and miles longer than it ever should have. Celebrate it!

Maybe you asked for a last-minute baby sitter and God provided. Celebrate it!

Maybe your whole world fell apart and God pieced it (or is just starting to piece it) back together with His gentle, patient hand. Celebrate it!

The further we travel from the moment God’s strong hand so intimately connects to our little lives, the easier it becomes to grumble. Complain. Doubt.

(See the book of Exodus!)

Choose to remember. And let God’s past faithfulness lead you to a future built on His promises.