MOLLY'S FAVORITE BIBLE SCRIPTURES
Luke 5:17-20 (Jesus Heals a Paralytic)
One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there.
And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.
When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
* I like this scripture because it reminds me that we need other people (not just ourselves) praying for our child's recovery. Jesus did not heal the paralyzed man because of his faith but because of the faith of his friends. We all need friends who will do whatever it takes to get our child to Jesus for healing - even if it means cutting a hole in the roof! Thank you to my Life Group.. before I met you, I wasn't truly "living".
John 9:2-3
His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'
* I like this scripture because I worried that I did something to deserve the suffering that a child with special needs (and therefore, the child's parents) often endures. This scripture makes it crystal clear to me that God did not cause Annie to have special needs as a punishment. Sometimes though, God allows a child to be born with special needs so that he can get our attention and show how powerful and loving He is. God wants our children's lives to turn into a testimony for His glory and grace. Ask him to get involved in your child's life (and your life) and prepared to be amazed!
Isaiah 45:4-5 (excerpts)
I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me...
I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me.
* When Annie first regressed, she no longer acknowledged her name or my existence. This was one of the most painful periods in my life. When I read this scripture, I cried because it reminded me of all the effort I was putting forth to break through to Annie, only for her to refuse to acknowledge me. But God quickly flipped the scripture around on me. He reminded me of all the years he screamed my name and tried desperately to get my attention, only for me to ignore his very existence and instead, chase the "almighty dollar" and other material things of this world. He was with me, even in those self absorbed years, but I refused to acknowledge him. Please listen for God - I promise you... he's calling.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
* Because my heart was broken, I began reading the Bible. I didn't know what else to do... everything I did under my own power had failed. I never felt closer to God than when I was my most "broken" self.
Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
* I am the type who always has always had a plan. But until I asked God to determine my steps, I was going nowhere! I like this scripture because, to me, it shows that God does not want us to sit back and wait for him to point his "divine finger" and supernaturally heal our children. Could God do this? Of course he could... and sometimes he does. But I believe, more often than not, God wants us to use the brain and talents he gave us to help recover our children. But he wants to be the leader. He wants to show us the steps (and timing) for how to heal our children. But once he shows us what to do, I believe we need to take action.
Luke 18:1-8 (The Parable of the Persistent Widow)
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
* I love this scripture because it shows that God has a sense of humor. God actually tells us that if we bug him enough through our prayers, he will see that we get justice. When you are praying for your child and you feel like giving up, think of the crazy widow bugging the judge. Keep on praying, believing God, and asking God for the desires of your heart. Your persistence will pay off.
Mark 9:24
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
* This scripture is about a father who brought his son to Jesus because the boy was possessed by a spirit that had "robbed him of speech" and caused him to have seizures. The father said to Jesus, "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23).
I find this touching because, to me, it shows how natural it is for a parent to vacillate between having complete faith that Jesus can heal our child to experiencing plaguing doubts and unbelief. When the unbelief takes over, all we can do is pray. Daily, I ask Jesus to help me overcome my unbelief and to help me trust Him.
Matthew 17:20
I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
* When you are trying to recover your child without God's help, it feels like you are climbing the biggest mountain ever and you may fall to your death at any moment. But, if you call on God, you no longer have to climb that mountain. You can simply tell the mountain to get out of your way! It is possible to recover your child - IT IS - if you have the power of almighty God backing you up and paving the way in front of you. Please believe that God can do what He says he can do... He can heal your child.
Romans 5:3-4
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
* What??? Rejoice in our sufferings? The first time I read that I said, "yeah right, God!". But I have come to understand what God means. I have always had perseverance, but character... that was another story. Until I suffered because of Annie's health issues, I was a person with serious character flaws. I am certainly not a perfect person now, by any means, but I have improved my character quite a bit. And you know what? Now that I have better character, I also have hope (hope that Annie will be healed 100%... that I will see her graduate from college, get married, have children, and teach those children all about how to have a daily personal relationship with God.)
Isaiah 58:8
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
* God is an 11th hour God. I learned this the hard way. For the longest time, I thought if I just tried hard enough, researched enough, talked to enough people, was smart enough, I would be able to figure out how to heal Annie. These characteristics had always worked well for me in my secular life. I thought I was trusting and relying on God, but I really wasn't. Inadvertantly, I was telling God to step aside and that I'd take care of it. It wasn't until I gave God my dream and completely "threw in the towel" that God began to heal Annie. When I hit "rock bottom" and admitted to God that I was out of ideas and out of strength, his "light broke forth like the dawn". After years of "spinning my wheels" trying to heal Annie by myself, God began healing Annie in a matter of weeks!
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'
* Keeping on the theme of when I hit rock bottom... when I was ready to give up on recovering Annie, I said to God... "your Word says your grace is sufficient but it is not yet sufficient for me... I am in agony Lord". I asked God why He would give me such strong desire and hope for Annie's healing if it was not His will for healing to occur. When I genuinely prayed for God to give me the ability to accept Annie, just as she is (for the rest of her life), that's when everything changed. God began to heal her, before my very eyes, within a matter of weeks.
Isaiah 40:31
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
* Being the parent of a child with special needs is more demanding than participating in the iron man triathalon! Without God, you will never make it. Please ask God for His supernatural strength and power to keep going (keep hoping and believing) one day, one step at a time.
Psalm 27:13-14
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
* I knew God would heal Annie in heaven but at times, I doubted whether or not I would have the joy of seeing her healed on earth. This verse assures me that if our prayers are in line with God's will, he will answer our prayers while we are still on earth... we just have to be patient and wait for his perfect timing.
Psalm 103:17
But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.
* It took me a while to understand what the words "fear" and "righteousness" mean in this scripture. Fear means to obey/respect God, not to be afraid of him. Righteousness means God's justice. So, if we want our children (and grandchildren) to have God's justice, we have to take action. Simply put, we need to read God's Word (which details the way he wants us to live our lives) and strive to obey his commands. Will we ever be perfect at obeying God? No, it is in our nature to sin. But if we honestly strive to do better every day and turn away from sin, that is all God asks of us.
Psalm 66:10-14
You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs. Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance. Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you — yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble.
* This scripture describes the journey I've been on the past several years. Annie's illness has felt like a test... like God was seeing if I have what it takes to accomplish His divine purpose for my life, or if He was going to have to recruit someone else. I believe God has a plan for how he wants to use each one of us to further His kingdom on earth... he gives us a very specific "calling". But if we continue to ignore that calling, I believe God will pass us by and use someone else to accomplish His plan.
Over the years, I have felt like a slave at times - a slave to Annie's deficient immune system and the rigid schedule I keep in order to get her well. I have felt like my "old self" was burnt to ashes in a fire or drown in a flood so that God could rebuild and "refine" me to be the way needs me to be in order to use me in His cosmic plan.
But now, as of the last year, I feel like I am entering that place of "great abundance" as Annie has made significant gains in such a short period of time. I am so grateful to God that I have to spread the word to others about what He can do if we let him. I made a vow to God when I was at my low point (when I was "in deep trouble") that I would tell others struggling with a special needs child what God has done for me... that I would share my testimony. That's what I hope to do through this website.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
* It still amazes me when I read this scripture that the God of the universe has a plan specifically for me and for Annie. And I love that God instructs us to never lose the hope and dreams we have for our children.
Isaiah 46:3-4
Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
* For times when I am feeling abandoned or forgotten by God, this scripture assures me that God is and has always been with me. And he wants to rescue us from our pain.
Psalm 77:14
You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.
* I believe God still performs miracles. Do you? I am living a miracle every day as my daughter recovers.
Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
* Enough said.
