The Valley Of Dry Bones

The feelings I am feeling are familiar and I hate that. I hate that I have felt this sort of fear once before, but I did 17 years ago.

From the time I was old enough to think about this, I told people that if God ever took one of my children I would probably curse him. To me there is no mercy in letting an innocent child be taken. Yes, I do know that the world is full of sin and the wages of sin are death, and that the world is full things gone wrong. But, I do know God can work miracles and have endings of stories be the happy ever after variety. That is in His power at all times. I love children, really do and so this is what I would think and say to people. I just would never understand a God that took children, or rather decided not to work a miracle and keep them here on earth.

When Melanie was 7 years old she became so sick, sicker than Mei-Ling is. I prayed of course and never left her bedside. Emery and I prayed, but there was that nagging thought in the back of my mind about what I said for all those years. I would curse God, if... and I can't finish that sentence without the flood gates of tears coming forth. Late one afternoon the Dr said to me, "Melanie is getting much worse, we worry that she may not make it through the night". Pain beyond anything I have ever felt pierced the air around me and came right for my heart. I heard my own words about God come crashing in on me. I felt like the breath of life had been sucked out of me but no time to dwell in this moment as just then they called a CODE on Melanie and were trying to revive her. Just as they were ready to inject her heart to get it started I prayed....." Lord, she is yours, she is yours to take and whatever you chose I will love you and not curse you." Hard prayer to pray, no the word hard doesn't even come close to describing the feelings. But I tell you the truth, at the very moment I uttered those words, "I will love you and not curse you," at that instant, Melanie came around, came back to us, God chose to work His miracle for us. They cancelled the CODE and there is that happy ever after ending. I know God works miracles. I know He can work one for Mei-Ling too.

Last night I prayed for God to show me a verse, I was too spent, too drained to find one on my own and as if looking for a prophecy, I wanted Him to give me His message about this situation.
I kept my eyes closed and let the Bible fall open.......my well loved, falling apart Bible.

Not knowing what to expect but full of hope, I read the verses that jumped out at me. Where the Bible fell open to was not a well worn spot. It fell open to the story of the Valley of the Dry Bones. I hadn't read that story since I was young. I cried as I read....Ezekiel 37: 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

If God's power can add tendons, flesh and such to dry bones, then it shouldn't be too hard for Him to show the Doctors how to make things right in wee Mei-Lings body.
In the night, I would wake and feel a moment of fear and these verses would fill my thoughts. I have never memorized them, but they came back to me in full from reading them last night, this my friends is a miracle in itself, I just wrote about how it seems harder to memorize these days, and I didn't even set out to memorize them. Time and time again, when my restless sleep would wake me, these verses filled me with peace again.
Upon waking this morning, the same thing, the first thought were these verses. I believe...simply I believe that the prayers sent out for our little darling will be heard and that God will fix things up. He has been with her every step of the way so far, and you know, He loves her even more than we do. Hard to even imagine. To God be all the glory !

My little weekend hike and time apart has prepared me for this time....please pray for Melanie and Casi, this is so hard on these two young ones.