OMG

OH MY GOD

 

In this world of social media and “shortspeak”, that’s what OMG stands for:  OH MY GOD

 

This is the first—and almost certainly the last—time I will ever write it. As with many other of today’s common phrases, it strikes me as a flippant, tossed-around expression that has little if anything to do with God. That really bothers me.

 

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.  (Exodus 20:7)

 

But today…

 

OMG

 

Today it’s my heart cry… Oh, my God.  MY God. The one who created me, loves me through every one of my good and bad choices, and will not leave me or let me down no matter how bleak the circumstances. The one who’s proved himself faithful for all of my 55 years—and for generations before.

 

But today my heart is heavy with things I don’t understand.

 

A father of young children has ulcerative colitis. He almost died last September. He desperately needs another surgery; this time to remove a portion of his colon. But he’s put his surgery on hold for now.

 

A mother of two was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. Thankfully it’s believed to be slow-growing. She needs a treatment plan, but she’s been distracted by Life and hasn’t gotten one yet.

 

A 3-year-old boy was diagnosed yesterday with a rare sinus tumor. It’s fast-growing, and he’s already been in the hospital for over a week awaiting test results, much of the time spent on a vent and fully sedated. Today he will undergo surgery during which several procedures will be done, including putting in a trach and a chemo port, bone marrow testing, and a spinal tap. And then they’ll decide what next.

 

All three are in the same family.

Mom, Dad, and son—and a younger child being cared for by friends an hour away. No extended family willing to come—and many more challenges that I won’t share here.

 

OMG

 

It’s all I know to do—cry out to God who sees the path through this horrific situation… and ask Him to show me how I can help.

 

This family first came into Renaissance Man’s and my lives when they attended Church Street Cafe’, the twice-monthly neighborhood meal hosted by our church. The second time we met, the brave young mother was giving us temporary guardianship of her children; we would host them as part of Safe Families for Children while she stayed at the hospital with her then-critical husband.

 

And now this…

 

Please pray for this family. Please pray for their medical teams. Please pray for the interesting mix of men and women God has assembled to minister to them. Their needs are so great—and we are each so inadequate—but we trust that, with God’s help, we can be faithful to walk this difficult journey with them… and somehow—ever so slightly—lighten their burden.

 

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

OH MY GOD…

Thank you for hearing the cries of my heart, the prayers of my lips. Thank you in advance for your faithfulness in this family’s time of crisis. May we know how to be creative in caring for them.

 

May I not get ahead of your leading.

 

Be Still-001

 

 

I’m joining:

Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound

Spiritual Sundays

Comments

  1. Sending this family, you, and the caregivers prayers.

  2. There are no words, Susan. Of course, I will pray. I’m printing off your post and will keep it at the ready. xo

  3. Praying for this family and for you as you minister

  4. Prayers for this family and you as you minister to them! There are times when all we can do is cry out to God.

    I hope you can stop by:

    http://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2016/01/songs-on-sunday-greater-is-he-by-blanca.html

    Colletta

  5. Sometimes it is hard to understand the whys of things. However, the saying goes things happen for a reason.I trust the good Lord lays a hand on this family and makes things better.

  6. Joining my prayers with yours.