Gospel Glimpses

As a Christian parent, there are experiences with one's child(ren) when God reveals an aspect of His truth in ways that are not easily compared with any of life's other relationships. I am privileged to be mom to twin boys! They are 9 1/2 months old and a true gift and joy to my husband and me (on most days).

The first born, Judah, was born with a rare condition called Sturge Weber Syndrome. It is associated with the Port Wine Stain (a red birthmark) that covers close to 40% of his body. As a result, Judah has glaucoma, which he recently had surgery to help remedy. He has potential brain involvement; although we have not yet seen any manifestations of that (Thank you, Lord!), and he receives a lot of medical attention from wonderfully skilled and knowledgeable doctors and nurses at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

After a recent post-op. visit, I was putting Judah into his carseat to go home. We had been to Hopkins three times that week. I was exhausted but grateful for the care Judah received and for the mercy of God that only one eye had to be worked on. I looked at my child, his eye slightly bruised and swollen the size of a golf ball and thought, "I hope you know we're subjecting you to all of this because we believe this is what is best for you in the long run. I hope you can somehow understand that all these doctor's visits, all the poking and prodding, all the laser treatments, evaluations under anasthesia, various studies we are allowing you to be a part of, trips to and from the hospital that interrupt nap times and make you have to eat and sleep in places much less comfortable and familiar than your own home, that all of this is because we believe we are doing what will lead to a better life experience for you down the road."

The verse in Hebrews 12:2 quickly came to mind,
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

There is a joy set before us as we put our son through the rigors of laser treatments every 6 weeks, eye surgeries, anasthesia, evaluations, scans and a multitude of doctor's exams. It is the hope that we are giving our son greater potential to health, to learning, and to what we would consider a "normal" life.

There was a joy set before Jesus as He endured His cross, but it wasn't about Himself. It was about us and it was about His Father. He endured the cross for the joy of knowing us, redeeming us, and spending eternity with us. Above that, He endured the cross for the joy of pleasing and glorifying God, His Father, even to the point of death.

While it is difficult to endure some of the demands of this lot Judah has been given, it is nothing compared to what was required of Jesus. In those moments before Judah is whisked away to be "put under", we can cry out to God and entrust our son to Him, knowing He hears our prayers and commands His angels to watch over our little boy. We will never have to cry out as Christ did on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

Thank you, Lord for the gift of a glimpse into the glories of the gospel; I trust there will be many more!