Tuesday, February 24, 2009

hannah 2/23

Today's email will again be less of a Hannah update than a summary of what's
> been on our hearts lately. Hannah continues to slip closer to Heaven....she
> is now pretty much sleeping around the clock, with very brief periods of
> wakefulness when she tries to communicate. She did not eat at all today,
> but was able to drink a little bit of water this evening. We have
> difficulty understanding what she is saying to us, but she seems to
> understand everything that is said to her. She is also beginning to
> experience some pain, but we've been able to keep it well under control with
> morphine. We continue to pray for her earthly healing, while knowing that
> Jesus is ready to receive her in Heaven.
>
> We were initially hesitant to share the story about Hannah praying for a
> storm in her life because we didn't want anyone to misunderstand the
> situation. We certainly didn't want to give anyone the impression that God
> would intentionally and maliciously inflict brain cancer on a 16-year-old
> girl just because she prayed for a storm. We believe that God has a
> specific plan for everyone, and that He knows what every day of our life
> holds before we are born. In His sovereignty, He knew that Hannah would one
> day battle brain cancer, and we believe that He was preparing her for this
> two years ago when she was at the Disciple Now event. For her, and for us,
> that prayer for a storm has been a source of comfort and an answer to the
> question "Why?" Every email we receive, phone call we answer, and person we
> talk to who tells us that their life has been changed because of Hannah is
> the answer to that question.
>
> I recently read a book by Steven James titled *Sailing Between the Stars:
> Musings on the Mysteries of Faith* and in one chapter he deals with the
> question of why a good God would allow people to suffer in this world. I'd
> like to quote him here:
> **
> *"I am left with three choices: 1) I can give up on God and tell my heart
> that he doesn't exist, that he couldn't possibly exist, that life really is
> as senseless, random, and pointless as it so often appears. 2) I can
> believe that God does exist but is either too impotent (powerless) to stop
> the suffering, unaware of the suffering (foolish), unconcerned about those
> who suffer (apathetic), or just plain out to get me (malevolent). None of
> these kinds of Gods would be worthy of my worship or my life. 3) I can
> cling to the belief that God really is in control, and really does love me,
> and really does work good out of both the joys and the hardships, the rights
> and wrongs of the world. I can keep leaning on the invisible arm that has
> supported me in the past and trust that the one who can shape a star on the
> tip of his tongue can also shape blessings out of my pain."*
>
> Hannah chose #3, and so do we. God is good, all the time!
>
> Jill, Brad, and Bethany

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