Well, it's been a while since I've written of our friend, Catia, from the Precario neighborhood. I have photos of her baby shower from almost a year ago, but recently we had the opportunity to catch up with her over coffee. If you remember, her baby was born with Down Syndrome. Since Laura was born, she has had 2 major surgeries and is going in for the most drastic one on Friday. She has had a small stroke, been in the ICU for 15 days, has a damaged lung and multiple other problems. She is a sweet baby, but it has been a long, emotional road for Catia. It was such an encouragement talking to Catia, because though she is worried about her baby, she has excepted God's will for Laura's life and decided that if the Lord takes her, she has served her purpose in their lives. I was grateful for our time with her, because I was reminded to pray for these mother's of sick children and that they might seek God in their pain. I love when the Lord does this amazing work where He puts words in my mouth. I speak what He's put inside of me and then I think, THAT WASN'T ME! The Lord gave me the words to speak and encourage her. I told her about how the character of God is good and just, no matter how our circumstance might look, that will never change about our God. Whether Laura continues with us here, or if she is taken to Heaven, God will continue to be good and just in Catia's life. I was reminded of someone else who has suffered in Isaiah 53..
1Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
It's strange that suffering is used for God's purposes. But it is. I believe it because I see it in Christ's life, in my own life, and in the lives of others. Suffering brings us into a deeper acknowledgement of who He is and what He's done for us. Suffer well, my friends, with Christ's nail-pierced hands at your side.
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