Addie's Due Date

If my pregnancy with Adelyn had continued without any problems, today would have been her due date. As soon as we said goodbye to our little girl, I began to dread January 15, 2015 in the deep recesses of my heart, because I knew it would be a hard day. Yet here it is, and the grace of God continues to take me by surprise. Yes, there is a sadness to this day; but greater than the sadness is the overwhelming joy and peace we have in Christ.

While I am definitely thinking of Addie Jane today, my thoughts also turn toward the many other people who have been affected by death. Almost everyone has lost a parent, a child, a grandchild, a sibling, or a friend, and if they haven't yet, they will someday. Maybe that person is you, or maybe you're the one dying as you sit here reading my post. If that's true, then I want you to know how very much you are loved by God. I don't know what your internal reaction is to that statement, and I don't know all of the reasons behind why God allows suffering into our lives when He has the power to prevent it. But I do know that none of that pain is meaningless, and that God is working all things together for good. 

''I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen. Not because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.'' - C.S. Lewis

When you trust Jesus and surrender your life to Him, it may not change your current situation, but it certainly changes your life and perspective. Without Christ, there is darkness, despair, fear, anger, and futility. With Christ, there is light, hope, courage, joy, and purpose amidst the pain. God changed more lives than just ours through everything that happened with Adelyn. I saw Him bring healing to people who had spent years of their lives in bondage to their pain. He revealed His love to more people in one day than I could have thought possible. Even now, He's using Addie's story to mend broken hearts and give hope to the hopeless.

Our pain always has a purpose.

If our suffering means that you experience the love of our Creator, hope in His salvation, and healing by His grace, then it is not in vain. You are worth every heartache, every moment of pain and difficulty, and God proved as much when He sent Jesus for you.

"But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior, He saved us- not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This [Spirit] He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life." -Titus 3:4-7

Do you know Jesus? Do you have the hope and peace that come with following Him? That is God's heart for you, and ours as well.

"[I pray] that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength." -Ephesians 1:18-19

Happy Due Date, Addie. We love you, always and forever.