This
is one of my favorite verses of scripture.
It says it all. I am nothing, He
is everything. He is the giver of life. I cannot bring life into existence; I cannot
take life away. That is within the
life-giving power of His great hands. If
I, or anyone, has life, it is because of Him.
This prayer by Gwen Ford Faulkenberry confesses that very thought:
So,
knowing and believing the very truth of His Word, that we live and move and
have our being in Him, I have no problem understanding or accepting that my
next breath comes from Him. But to read
these words in light of the past few months, the past few days…”Jesus, You are
nearer than my next breath.” I could only sigh, and say “oh God” in humble
gratitude.
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| Dr. Jernigan, Ephraim's pediatrician/nephrologist with him since before he was born |
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| Veronica, Ephraim's living donor |
How near He has been, giving us wisdom and moving us forward as we pursued the purchase of the farm…Hope Springs (and it does!); how near He has been enabling me to trust Him when everything in me wanted to crumble at the thought of my grandson going on dialysis when his kidney failed…it just wasn’t what I had planned for him and my son and his wife to have to go through. They had already gone through so much in the last four years. But oh how God has been glorified in his little life these last four years. God chose to breathe life into him against all odds, and has sustained him to this point. On this past Thursday, October 24, Ephraim was given a chance at life again as God provided “the perfect kidney” through another of His dear children, Veronica Shelton.
In
Him we live and move and have our being.
It is true. We have lived it,
especially in this last week. On
Saturday, October 26, our oldest son and his wife gave birth to their fourth
beautiful baby, a girl…Madalyn Kate…our 15th grandchild! Just one more great and gracious testimony to
the truth that God is the great Life-giver.
It couldn’t have come at a more precious time. When Christina became pregnant, no one had
any idea that Ephraim would have this transplant as late as October. In May, when he had to go on dialysis we
prayed it wouldn’t be long. But it was
as long as it needed to be, and God saw fit to have these two life-giving
events in our family coincide.
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| Elisha with his dad, Aaron who had the pleasure of baptizing him. |
And
the icing on the on the cake?? The ultimate event
to attest to God’s great life-giving nearness? Another grandson, six year old
Elisha called on the way home from church to share some awesome news! “Grammy, I got baptized today!” He had called some time ago to tell us he had
given his heart to Jesus. But now, to be
baptized? He had given ample indication
of his understanding and desire to show everyone, being obedient and sealing this
decision, that he now belonged to Jesus.
Gratitude swelled!! Glory, and
God be praised!
There
will be a few more bumps in the road I am sure as we travel along. But life is so good! And with God, the great Life-giver, it is
great!
My
Beloved
You
are nearer…
Than
the sun that pours through my window at dawn,
Warming
me, waking me--inviting me into the new day.
You
are nearer…
Than
the cool water that I splash on my face
Tingling
and sparkling in my skin…refreshing me.
You
are nearer…
Than
the outside air and the wind that blows
Through
my hair--awakening my soul
To
the beauty around me and the beauty of life.
You
are nearer…
Than
the gentle warmth
Of
the firelight--softening, illuminating, and soothing
You
give me satisfaction and peace
At
the end of a day well spent
And,
when my head falls softly onto the pillow at night
You
are nearer…
Than
the moon and stars above me,
Watching
over me,
Lighting
the world.
Jesus,
You are nearer than my next breath.
You
never take Your eyes off me.
Every
moment of my day I am held in Your nail-scarred hands.
Since
nothing comes into my life that doesn’t pass through You first,
Help
me, Lord, to trust in You.
Gwen
Ford Falkenberry, Jesus Be Near Me
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