Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:10 (ESV)
When my son, George, was 15 years old, he fell ill with a mysterious infection. From a simple scratch, he would be hospitalized for over three weeks, endure numerous MRI’s and two surgeries, high fever, and excruciating pain. That little scratch evolved into necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating bacteria, a deadly disease that destroys your tissue and muscle. His case came from the strep A bacterium, something that lives right on his skin.
Our nights and days were long, and he slept most of the time. I watched them tear open his leg, leaving it open. The removal of the gauze from the wound was heart-wrenching. My boy was tough, and the pain would exhaust him. Nights were the worst. His screams during dressing changes were deafening. Many nights I would grab my Bible and open up to anything and start reading to him. Funny, it always opened to the crucifixion of Christ. As if God was telling us, I feel your pain with you.
One night, things took a deadly turn as George’s organs began to shut down. As I stepped out of the room to make calls, I fell to my knees. Outside his room, I sobbed to God. “If you have to take my son, I understand.”
In my life, this moment is the most significant time of surrender I have experienced. With a complete release of a situation I had no control over, I left my child in the hands of God. I wish I could say I filled with peace and light, and moved forward with super-human confidence. That is not the way it played out. Surrender doesn’t work that way. Eventually, we find that peace, but I still had anxiety and fear, and I needed God more than ever.
Releasing ourselves to God is being a little child again and falling into his lap for comfort. There is safety and support there. He soothes our broken spirit with tender love. When we hop down, we are ready to face life again. Surrender is healing; in ways we often never expect.
The very next day, they discovered an abscess that was keeping my son sick. He went through another surgery and finally began to heal. The doctors called this a divine miracle. They would be correct.
Authentic Truths 