Thursday, May 24, 2007

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY JONATHAN!
May 24, 2007

1 Samuel 1:27 - 2:1 - "For this boy we prayed, and the LORD has given us our petition which we asked of Him. 28 "So we have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD." And they worshiped the LORD there.
This is the Scripture you will find on the birth announcement of Jonathan Lamar Cooper. I can clearly remember 11 years ago today when we welcomed our beautiful little Jonathan into our world. After having two beautiful girls, my heart’s desire was to have a boy. I was willing to do almost anything anyone suggested to ensure that we would have a boy that time around. But deep in my heart, I knew that God would give us exactly who He wanted us to have. God was gracious and gave us the desire of our heart, May 24, 1996, – God’s Gracious Gift – our precious Jonathan.
There have been many times since then that we have prayed that same prayer for Jonathan. The first time was when we took him at three months old to see a neurologist for the first time. We had determined that he seemed to respond to us by hearing more so than by sight. We did not know at that time if he could see or if he was blind. We prayed as we anguished about the possibility of his being blind. “The LORD gave us the petition we asked of Him.” Never in our entire lives have we prayed so earnestly for this little boy as we did the last couple of days of 2004 into 2005. You were there to pray along with us. “For this boy we prayed - again, and the LORD has given us our petition which we asked of Him.” I had no idea when I chose that Scripture that it would mean so much over the course of his young life. Today we celebrate Jonathan’s 11th birthday with joy unspeakable. You can’t look at this boy without seeing the hand of God all over him. Each time I look at Jonathan, I stand in awe of the powerful hand of God to heal and deliver and bring back to life one so close to the brink of death. My heart worships in awe of such a merciful God who would hear the prayers of this family and the prayers of saints all over the globe, just as He heard Hannah’s prayers so long ago, and answer so graciously. This past Sunday, our pastor said that a miracle is God’s signature. Each time you look at a miracle you see only God’s name on it. It is undeniable He alone receives the credit and the glory for the work that has been done. That is what we see when we look at Jonathan. His life bears the signature of the Almighty God.
The second part of Jonathan’s Scripture says: "So we have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD." We dedicated Jonathan to the LORD when he was just about a month old. Not only did we give his life to the LORD 11 years ago, but he also has given his life to the LORD. Jonathan’s life not only bears the unique signature of Almighty God, but also the permanent signature of the Lord Jesus Christ, written with His precious blood upon Jonathan’s heart. We have so much to praise God for today. We hope that you will join us as we thank God for this wonderful gift of life and for the work that He has done in Jonathan’s life and continues to do each day. We thank God for each of you who have so faithfully interceded for Jonathan and our family over these years. We would not be where we are today without your love, care, and support for us. You are part of our celebration today. I will update again over the weekend to share with you the details of our birthday celebration today. Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised!


Psalm 40:1-3, 5 - I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, and will trust in the LORD. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

No comments: