All Things For Good

When I was in college I taught a Bible Study to a group of girls 2 years younger than me.  The semester that we studied Romans was an especially fruitful one for me, and hopefully for the girls in the study.  I vividly remember the night that we studied Romans 8:26-28 :

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

We were discussing the passage when one girl started sharing about the death of her grandmother and the intense pain that followed, but how she was able to see God moving in her family and bringing her unbelieving relatives to know God.  She cried and spoke of praying for her grandmother to live and not understanding God's reasons to let her die, but only a few short months later she could see much fruit from tragedy.  One by one, many girls spoke of how God had done much good out of the ashes of tragedy, loss, and despair.  

This past August some friends of ours lost their precious baby boy.  We knew a few weeks before that his life was in jeopardy, but we prayed and petitioned that God would show mercy and spare his life.  The night Asher died started a week of agonizing pain and mourning for me like I had never been through.  I still cry almost every time I think about their loss.  

In the midst of all this suffering, I watched our amazing friends lean steadily on the Lord for strength and comfort to get through each moment.  They were honest about their pain, but they continued to rely on the sovereignty of God and their faith (as well as many, many others) was strengthened incredibly.  

That was in August - 3.5 short months ago.  This week, God placed a baby girl into their arms.  They had just started the process of applying to adopt through the foster system, when they were chosen by a mother.  It's an amazing story of the faithfulness of God. Our tears of mourning have turned into tears of rejoicing.  

I can't really do justice to their story, so you should just go read it yourself.