True Joy

Evan and Leah Wampler are friends of ours in Kingsport, TN.

They had little baby Liam a while back.

He weighed just a pound and has been confined to the NICU

for many long weeks

as he grows strong enough to meet the outside world.

Our prayers have been mighty on behalf of Liam

and we have been so pleased that

by the grace of God he has grown and developed.

The wonderful world of facebook 

has kept us updated every step of the way.

Leah posted this picture the other day.

It had the caption

Evan feeding Liam with a bottle for the first time.

It struck me profoundly.

What a beautiful beautiful moment.

How many times have I fed my four children

and never gave it a moment's notice?

This photo so perfectly depicts 

one of the way God works in our mortal journey.

It's a hard lesson to swallow

yet so necessary:

God lets us suffer

so that we can truly enjoy the non-suffering.

If we didn't know the pain,

we couldn't enjoy the joy.

I am so grateful for all the hard times I have endured

because those hard times

make my normal and even somewhat insignificant life

seem like such a miracle every day.

Thank you God

for my trials

and for Liam.