After sharing Joy Belle’s most recent, clubfoot update, I was overwhelmed with the positive and encouraging words so many of you shared with me. It’s so incredible to be reminded that so many of you care and pray for our girl (& us!). I can definitely count the support of family and friends as a blessing from this clubfoot journey.
With so many uplifting messages, I couldn’t help but share some of them with you.
This reminder came from my sister,
Joy Belle needing the surgery does not mean she’s not healed. She will never not be a kid born with club feet. But she is already healed from the restrictions that it could have had on her. It is simply more progression and part of her journey for a more comfortable future. The doctor could have told you her foot looks good enough and that she doesn’t need the surgery. Instead, they see the potential for it to be even better and you’re giving her that opportunity.
Um, hello! You’re so right. She may still need this corrective surgery, but look at how He has healed her thus far. She has come so, so incredibly far from the day she was born. Bethany was with me with I first found out about Joy Belle’s clubfoot diagnosis. She was there when I believed Joy Belle’s future may mean paralysis. (I was very uninformed at this point, but I thought it was a possibility.) She’s been more than an ear to listen, but an encourager in my darkest days. Those words she shared were a reminder I needed.
Another friend shared this article on Facebook by Sandi Krakowski, that had encouraged her.
I don’t know what you’re facing today but this one thing I do know: God hasn’t changed. He still shuts the lion’s mouth. He still parts seas. The problem with this generation is that often we’re so complacent and comfortable that we believe a miracle is when God prevents bad things from happening and makes our lives easy!
And when we don’t get the big, flashy miracles, we think God has abandoned us. We have this tendency to think the glory of a loving, powerful God is best demonstrated when we walk right into a fire and He extinguishes the flames. But the truth is, He is greater when the fire surrounds us and He prevents us from being consumed!
Easy isn’t always better.
Just as fire purifies and refines metal, when we go through trials, we are being made stronger and more fit for our purpose. It is okay to take a risk and believe Him for something so big that you’ll look like an idiot if He doesn’t show up!
God is a strategist and He knows how to deliver us. He still opens deaf ears. He is still in the business of resurrecting dead things. He can still call to the four winds and blow fresh air onto your impossible situations!
I still believe that He is sufficient and that there is nothing you will ever face that He cannot help you press through. Stir up the gift that is in you! Lift the hands that are weary!
When the storms of life come, rest upon the rock who knows your name. Take comfort in knowing He has your back. He will not let you fall because He created you to BE MORE.
Believe in the little things. Stop waiting for someone to walk on water to ignite your faith. #BEMORE
How right is she? Easy isn’t better. And in the hard times and uncertainties, He has our back. He desires for each of us to be more. That example of fire purifying metal is so relatable. God is using trials to make us each stronger and more fit for our purpose.
Starting this journey scared and discouraged, I can attest that I have learned so much, my faith and outlook is stronger, and I have been so encouraged by my family, friends, and this online community. I am so thankful for each and everyone of you that reached out to me and lifted us up in prayer. I assure you, we’ve felt it.
