It has been just over a week since my sister's accident. I am still astounded at God's power in protecting them all and sparing their lives. I understand that although I am, as everyone else I am sure also is, still reconciling God's purpose. One thing I do know is this: there is one. Our praise team at church did a concert a few months ago. They sang a song entitled, "We will Remember." I wrote about it to my Bible Study girls in April. Truly, from the first time I heard it, it moved me. It is so perfect for the events in the last week, and I would be amiss if I didn't share with it you....

I sang it through tears in my car ride to Ohio when I didn't know the outcome of four precious lives. I sang it through my head as I watched my sister struggle in pain, questioning. I have been singing it all week. Simply put, it is about deliberately stopping, remembering, and praising God for all He has done and provided in our lives. In this instance, God provided a hand of protection, sustaining four dear lives in a time when despair seemed looming. I have included the lyrics below. I for one will choose to stop, remember, and praise Him for the works of His hands. It was His hands that preserved life last Thursday, June 9th...

We will remember. We will remember.
We will remember the works of His hand.
We will stop and give Him praise, for great is His faithfulness!
He's our creator, our life sustainer, our deliverer,
our comfort, our joy. Throughout the ages,
He's been our shelter, our peace in the midst of the storm.
With signs and wonders He's shown His power.
With precious blood He showed us His grace.
He's been our helper, our liberator, the giver of life with no end!
When we walk through life's darkest valleys we will look back
at all He has done and we will shout 'Our God is good'
and 'He is the faithful one!'

He created us, loved us enough to do so. He sustains us, even when we feel like we aren't worth it. He delivers us from all things imaginable. He comforts us. He hides us in the cleft of His shoulder and keeps us near His heart when we are passing through a shadow. He sees every single tear and catches them in His bottle. He desires to hold us closely. He is our source of joy, filling us past our brims… When the sea gets rocky, He is there just like He was for the disciples. He is in the boat with us! And the most unbelievable bit of it all is that He reveals to us His grace spilled on a cross by choice. He went silently, in humility, empty, to be a perfect sacrifice for us, something we could never do ourselves. He helps us, yes, even liberates us. He is the great emancipator and brings freedom to our lives. He is willing! He gives life unending! And finally, when we are so awash with life, with circumstance, with feeling, with question, with uncertainty, with harshness, He is beside us. In fact, He tells us in Psalm that He is not only beside us, He is before us and behind us and above us. When we are discouraged, He is still there. When we are overwhelmed, He is there. When we are unsure, He is there! And when we emerge from the deluge, we will shout 'My God is a faithful God and He is good!'

I am ashamed to admit there have been many periods in my life when I have been ungrateful, unappreciative, just plain ignorant of what exactly God has done for me. I am choosing, in these moments, to stop, remember, and praise Him for being all of those things to my sister and her family.

I wanted to take you to this place with this song today. It has meant a lot to me and I needed to share. I don't know many details about what you may be going through, but I do know one thing. God is a constant, an absolute. He wants us as children. He esteems us, pursues us, and delightes in us. Let's be honest. Sometimes taking a step, moving one foot in front of the other is all we can do. Other times we find ourselves running to Him. Either way, get those feet moving! And while we are at it, let us not forget to fall on our faces before Him and thank Him, remembering the works of His hands in our lives.

I will be praying this week that we will each stop, be still, and see, really see, how He is moving, even in the midst of this moment right now, even when we might not be able to sense Him clearly. His grace is sufficient for every need we could ever encounter. He has enough reserve for all. On behalf of the Laird family, I am choosing to remember. Join me.