Grand Sweep Daily
Mark 5:30-34 (NIV)
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding around you,” His disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Good morning!
I’ve learned a lot about faith walking simply by observing my children and grandchildren through the years. What may come naturally to an innocent heart seems to fade as time and experience falls upon those who are well-seasoned in the journey of daily living. Where does faith fade and pessimism rise? How can a child trust so completely while parents shake their heads in utter disbelief? What does it take for true faith to take flight in the hearts of those who trust Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord?
I’ve listened with interest to the prayers of my grandchildren Joshua and Emily this week. On Saturday night, their mommy and daddy tucked them into bed with kisses and hugs, promising they would be there when they awoke to the morning sunlight. When morning came, mommy and daddy were not in their bedroom. They were at the hospital, where mommy found herself struggling to climb up a faith mountain. The grand children were glad to see me, and “Nanny” is always happy to hug her sweet babies. But oh, how I longed to give them back their parents! Sometimes life just isn’t fair at all, but God is good all the time, and on this fresh, new Sunday morning, there was no fear across the faces of my dear ones. We held hands while Joshua and Emily asked Jesus to make mommy better, and then they asked me to fix their breakfast! It was done – one simple little prayer spoken from the mouths of tiny babes. I saw faith take flight as their prayer was released into the earth’s atmosphere. The answers came before their simple requests were made. It was just that fast. And it is an amazing thing to watch how tiny steps of faith unfold along the spiritual hiking trail.
All our Rachel ever wanted was to have a large family, with lots and lots of babies. I don’t remember how many dollies Rachel raised in her childhood, yet there were many she holds dear to her even today. Little Emily sleeps with Rachel’s first doll, a blond baby with sweet little dimples named “Honey.” Emily shows as much affection for that doll as Rachel did when she was a child. I wonder if nurturing passes from mother to child as their dollies are passed from generation to generation. Rachel fought hard to have her children. If you have never suffered with endometriosis, you may not fully understand the lengths Rachel went through to conceive and bring forth new life. She had four surgeries to remove endometrial scar tissue while she was a teenager, long before she ever married. Rachel developed a strong stomach and a high pain threshold, refusing to live in fear. There is no way I could have done what she went through have children. I learned more about building a gutsy faith muscle by watching how my daughter works out spiritually each day. She is one strong woman, that child of mine. And when I grow up, I want to be just like her.
In the first set of biopsies, Rachel’s physician talked to us about what endometrial scar tissue looks like when it is left inside a woman’s womb. He said he could see Rachel’s endometriosis resembling thick cords running through and around her cervical lining. Because of Rachel’s previous surgeries, I was convinced the doctor would be cutting through a great deal of scar tissue to excise the cancerous womb from her body. I hugged the stuffing out of Rachel’s oncologist, who had not known our daughter until now. She had not seen or lived with what we had experienced for years and years. I did a happy dance when her oncologist told us that other than the cancer which was contained in the cervix, her womb looked perfectly healthy, with no scarring anywhere! Only the Lord Jesus Christ can cut through the thick scars imprinted upon our lives and remove them with just one touch from His miraculous, healing hand.
Last night, when Rachel returned from recovery, she rolled her head toward me and said, “All gone?” It was my privilege to lean over my baby’s hospital bed and whisper the good news, “There is no more cancer, honey. It’s all gone.” I could sense the presence of Christ holding my baby girl in His arms and saying, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Three incredible little people have graced our lives because of the faith-filled determination of a family who chooses to live life trusting in Jesus Christ. Rachel and Dave have been truly blessed! There is no greater joy than the gift of new life. Yesterday, we experienced His precious gift again.
I read the words to a Hallmark® card yesterday as I opened our daily mail. I have no idea who wrote this tender verse but I would suspect it was a person of great faith. The card simply says, “I’m strong enough to rise above most any troubled time… Today may be a mountain, but I was born to climb.” Jesus calls us to climb a faith mountain for Him each day. When we pray, we place our total trust in the One who changes everything. We ask God for the things we can only hope for and evidence of things not yet seen. We know He has the power and authority to do it and we claim it all in His precious name. Power flows out and peace flows in like the rush of the ocean at evening tide. Our prayers were heard and answered before the words were ever spoken. Thank you Jesus! Help us climb a faith mountain as we place our total trust in you.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
Pray for: greater faith! Ask Him to teach you how to climb the faith mountain in your life. A simple prayer prayed in faith always works! When we stop trusting in our own abilities and begin trusting in the only One who can make the difference, everything shifts and His power is released. We are born climbers. Won’t you join me for a hike up faith mountain today?
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© Copyright 2007, Deb Spaulding
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