September 25, 2008

Thanks so much to all of you who have checked out the new blog and sent sweet messages to Jonathan and our family. Your faithfulness to check on us and pray for us means more to me than mere words could ever express.

With that said, I wanted to come and ask you to pray for a couple of things for Jonathan. First of all, tomorrow, he and his Dad will be leaving for an overnight retreat with the Junior High at church. It is called Break Away Weekend. They leave on Friday evening and spend the night and most of the day Saturday at a camp studying the Bible and having some fun before returning Saturday evening. This is his first official event with the Junior High and I think he is pretty excited. Please pray that he will have a great time and be comfortable being part of this new part of his life. Pray for Lamar as well. I know he is already tired and not getting a weekend will be tough on him. Pray that God will give him grace and strength to make this event and that he and Jonathan will have a great time together.

I would also like to ask you to pray about something very specific for Jonathan. I would like for you to join me in praying that God will bring a boy or two into Jonathan's life to be his good friends. As I have observed him over the past few weeks, I realize that he has no friends to hang out with. Don't get me wrong, all the guys in his grade are very nice to him. They always speak to him and they are never mean in any way. All of the kids are like that and I have always been so very grateful for the kindness of the kids around him. But that is pretty much as far as it goes. After speaking and saying hello to him, Jonathan either hangs out with us or he hangs out by himself. I don't think he really notices it, at least not as much as I do. Jonathan has never been as social as his sisters, at least not with other kids. He has always played by himself and even when he would have friends over, he would eventually end up on his own. However, since his illness, he is much less social and much more on his own most of the time. He doesn't initiate interaction on his own very well, at least not with other kids. He is great with adults! After talking with the girls about it some, they seem to think the kids think he needs to be taken care of and are afraid that something will happen that they can't handle. I'm not sure what it is, but I have been burndened by it and have commited to pray specifically for God to send someone who can be the "David" to my Jonathan. Pray that we can continue to guide him and help him grow in his social skills and become more independent and less dependent on us as his parents. Pray that I will be willing to give up my expectations and let God do what He desires and what only He can do with this in Jonathan's life. Sometimes I forget that he is still only 12 years old. I probably needs as much prayer in this as I think Jonathan does! Anyway, I hope you will join me in praying about this specific request for him. It strengthens my faith and helps me to trust God knowing that you are praying for my son.

I read through some Scriptures again this morning that I have Jonathan's name written by. I was reminded of my need to follow the example of Abraham, not waver in my faith, and continue to Believe God that He is able to do what He has promised. So I will begin today to Believe God for this and trust His faithfulness in Jonathan's life. Thank you for praying with me.

Romans 4:18-21 - In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.