Psalm 46:1, 10 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
"You should own stock in the ER," my brother Bruce joked as he called me yesterday. I laughed at his comment. But, yesterday is one of those days I don't care to repeat. It's also one of those days I have to reflect and ask God, "What do you want me to learn from this?"
It started with my husband Frank taking our fourteen year old daughter Amber to the ER with hives, itching, severe abdominal pain, and extreme difficulty breathing. So extreme, I might add, that he didn't think he could make it to the hospital. He took her to the brand new ER that just opened down the street, not associated with any hospital. We've seen the signs before, and we were pretty sure she was having an allergic reaction. He injected her with the epi-pen, and off they went. Our electricity then went out at home. The doctors mis-diagnosed her at the ER. And although she was feeling drained but back to normal by the afternoon, her allergist wanted to see her in his office in shorter time then it takes me to drive there.
This was Amber's fourth trip to the ER in the last few months, due to something called "Peanut Desensitization." You see, she's been deathly allergic to peanuts her entire life, but since January, we have made weekly visits to the allergist, working to overcome this allergy. Sure, there have been a few bumps along the way, but on Monday she "graduated" from the program. We thought those days of reactions were behind us. Little did we know, three days after graduation, she would have the most severe allergic reaction of her life since the day we found out she had this allergy.
I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about everything that had transpired. And all I can say, is I have a great God. And God has given me some amazing friends to pray for our family during crisis.
Maybe I don't own stock in the ER, but let me say, I do own stock in God. I don't deserve it. I didn't buy it by good works or any great investment I had done. But God gave it to me freely when His son Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. He invested His Son for me. All I had to do was accept it, ask Him to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and commit myself to Him. I did that as a small child, and I am so thankful that no one can ever take it away from me.
I can't imagine what my life would be without God in it. He cares about every detail, even leading us to the right doctors, including the "Best Allergist in Dallas" when we first moved here eleven plus years ago. No, seriously, he IS the best, as named by D Magazine! Props to Dr. Robert Sugarman! He spent an hour with Amber yesterday afternoon, in the room, looking at the ER reports, and discussing her situation. I was so touched by his care and sensitivity with us, late in the day. He did what was right for Amber, instead of what was right for him and his staff. They even stayed at the office until 6 PM with us, just to be sure she didn't have another reaction after her next "dose" of peanuts. Yep, he's a keeper, and it's not by our doing that we found him. We prayed for God to give us the right doctors when we moved here, and isn't it just like God to answer prayers?
I would be lost, literally, without God. My heart beats for people to understand what it really means to have a relationship with Him! I have friends that know about God. They ask people to pray when things go south, but that's where it stops. They have never had a time in their life when they've given control of their life to Him and started to have a personal, intimate friendship with Him. How I wish for everyone to understand what being a Christian is really about. Religion? No. Believing in God? No. Relationship with God and giving up control? Most definitely. If you do not have a relationship with God like the one I've talked about, please contact me. It would be my privilege to show you what the Bible says about becoming a Christian. :)
He knows what tragedies I might face. And nothing happens to me without it passing by God first. Why does He let these things happen? I have no idea, only that in all things, He should be glorified. And that's what I want to do this morning. I give Him the glory for giving us an amazing doctor in Dr. Sugarman. I give Him the glory for the "Peanut Desensitization," even with the bumps in the road that we've had. I give Him the glory for the new ER being built just minutes from our home. I give Him the glory for the wonderful epi-pen. I give Him the glory for all things.
He is my refuge and strength. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble. And I will not question why...I will be still, and know that He is God so He can be exalted.
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com