It is Well with My Soul

Two blogs in 3 days.... WOW! I'm even impressed with myself on this one! Not too much to update on! We get to see Genetics and hopefully ENT tomorrow... woo hoo!! Much thanks to everyone who has helped us get these appointments set up so soon, and to all of my co-workers who are stepping in to allow me to be in and out of the office to get to these appointments. I am hoping that we will be able to get our blood work done and sent off for genetics (then wait 6-9 months), and also get a time set up for Riggs to have a CT/MRI to rule out a few things that could be causing the hearing loss. Another exciting step... we have a speech evaluation set up for next Wednesday!  I will update before he gets the scans because I will be begging for prayers!! =) Other than that... my sweet little man had an awesome Monday at daycare!

This will be MUCH shorter than the first post. I really wanted to post today to just give God the glory (riiise and shiiine and give God the glory glory!).... sorry but that song popped into my head as I typed!

I want to start by saying that I think this blog will be therapeutic for this Mommy, even if no one ever reads it! That being said... I really hope that it will bring encouragement to someone out there who might need it. I immediately felt a huge relief after posting Saturday night, and was able to get a few hours of good sleep. That is until Jared got up to take our sweet 9 y/o cousin turkey hunting at 4:30am... doesn't he know that's too early for the weekend?! Anyhow.... I couldn't decide if I was going to go to church alone or if I was just going to watch online (which honestly is not very effective for me because I end up chasing my sweet child around instead of focusing on the message). At the last minute I decided that I was going to go. I don't think I have EVER felt God speak so directly to me in my entire life.

As I entered the auditorium, I was at peace... then the worship began. All of my favorite worship songs were sang, as if God wrote the "set list" for me. I of course cry throughout, and then HE really shows up. Every now and again during the worship service they will show a short clip of someone's testimony. Low and behold.... the testimony is from a woman talking about the day she found out her son had a global language disorder that left him without the ability to talk. She vividly described the day her 2 year old son sat in the back seat and was so angry that he could not tell her what he wanted that she broke down and wept as they drove down the road. She said at that moment she prayed that one day he was going to be a great communicator. He is now 8 years old and able to speak and express his wants and needs. It was absolutely amazing....... I so needed to hear that.

Then we get to the message..... it's all about JOY!! I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here, but I encourage everyone to check out this message below. I literally felt like I was the only person in the room. It seemed that it could not have come at a more perfect time. It was basically a great reminder that no matter what is going on in your life it is important to have JOY!

http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/joy-no-matter-what

I am going to have my sad and angry days that I question "why us?", but I hope to remember the story that Pastor Chris told about the old hymn "It Is Well with My Soul", which was the song in which the above mentioned woman shared her testimony (talk about a sob fest!!). I will shorten it, but basically the man who wrote the song, Horatio Spafford, was once a wealthy man.... He lost his home and business in the Great Chicago Fire and also lost his only son around the same time. He had a friend that lived in London that suggested he and the rest of his family come and get some "R and R". The man sent his wife and 4 daughters on a ship to London and was going to take a later ship, as he had business to finish in the states. As they crossed the Pacific an accident occurred which caused the ship to sink. His 4 daughters were all taken from him. His wife was the only survivor from his family. When Horatio was on his way to London shortly after, the Captain asked the man if he wanted to stop at the sight of the wreckage and pay his respects to his daughters that were now buried in the ocean. It was at this time, that this man who had lost almost everything wrote the hymn.... I have ALWAYS loved this song, but now it has an entire different place in my heart. It also reminds me of my Grandmother, who instilled a love of old hymns in me from a young age. She is also Riggs' namesake (Riggs was her maiden name). Just read the words below (this is actually not the original, but very similar. This is Hillsongs version which I love even more) and imagine having the faith in God to have gone through everything this man went through yet he still had JOY! It was well with his soul....

When peace like a river
Attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot
You have taught me to say
It is well
It is well with my soul

But Lord it’s for Thee
For Thy coming we wait
The sky not the grave is our goal
Oh trump of the angel!
Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope
Blessed rest of my soul!

It is well with my soul
It is well
It is well with my soul

You are the Rock
On which I stand
By Your grace it is well
My hope is sure
In Christ my savior
It is well with my soul

-Hillsong United

Until Next Time....