Jehovah Jireh::The Lord will Provide

Since learning of Isaac's heart condition at 20 weeks of pregnancy, our minds have raced with a million questions. Our faith has been stretched & grown immensely as we've trusted so much in God's hands, waiting to see what He had in store. Isaac's HLHS requires three open-heart surgeries in order to survive with extensive stays in the ICU with each round. Needless to say, the medical bills for such care & procedures surpass anything we ever imagined we'd be asked to carry. Anxiety often looms at the door, seeking to cause worry & desperation as we had no idea how we would afford this large sum. Just as in the Genesis 22 account, we had no idea where the lamb for the offering would come from. We certainly did not have it! All we could do was place that burden in God's hands, remembering His name - Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide.

Last night, our church, Cleveland Community Church (C3), had its First Wednesday service. Held on the first Wednesday of every month, we have extended worship, baptisms, communion, & dynamic teaching from Pastor Matt Fry. The service is always one of the major highlights of each month. As Minister of Music & Communications, Jordan leads the worship band & serves as one of the worship leaders for our church. With Isaac's recovery going smoothly so far, he was able to play & lead in last night's service. The night was powerful with over 700 people in attendance & passion for Jesus filling the worship center. Neither of us had been at C3 since Isaac's birth, so the evening was incredibly refreshing for him. Towards the end of service, Pastor Matt & Martha called Jordan to the front of the stage. They gave an update on Isaac's status - the first surgery had gone well with two more to follow. What happened next caught us by complete surprise & will fill us with overwhelming emotion at it remembrance for the rest of our lives. Pastor Matt announced that they desired to take up a spontaneous love offering for us!!! Adequate words do not exist to express our sheer amazement & deep gratitude to our church for their generosity & to our great God for His provision. As Jordan recounted to me later, he was in total shock & completely overwhelmed with our church's love for us & our sweet son whom they've not even met yet!

After the service, several people gave Jordan cards containing financial gifts & Ken Stephenson, our Executive Pastor & dear friend, presented Jordan with the love offering check. This offering far surpassed anything we could have even imagined! God is truly amazing... In totaling the love offering with the other gifts we've received from the staff & other church members, we were brought to tears with what we found. Before Isaac was born, we were given a cost quote of what the surgeries would cost us after insurance and the number was quite great to say the least.

After the tithe, the total of these gifts will completely cover the quoted amount of Isaac's medical bills!!!!!

God is our Jehovah Jireh! He does provide! We had not told anyone what this cost for Isaac's surgeries would be other than the Lord & He worked through His church to provide for this huge need! All we could do was cry & praise God for His faithfulness & love. How can we ever thank Him & everyone involved in providing for our son?! Even now, we are moved to the point of tears in knowing how deeply Isaac is loved. Just as Abraham did not know where the offering would come from in Genesis 22, so we did not know where the provision of Isaac's surgeries would come from. God is the Alpha & Omega. He is the same yesterday, today, & forever. The same God who spared Abraham's son by providing the ram is also the God who spared our son by providing the means for these necessary surgeries! Lord, You are good & Your mercy endures forever!

Thank you, C3, for your faithfulness to the Lord & your obedience to His call. He has used you to help save the life of a sweet little boy & to minister in deep ways to his parents. We are so honored to be part of this great journey with you & to serve our Lord together! For those of you who are not familiar with this life-giving church, please check it out! www.c3church.org.

C3, we love you all & can't imagine being anywhere else than beside you serving our great God! And again, with the deepest sincerity, thank you. Your faithfulness & compassion has touched our family forever!