Today I have a more somber story to tell about a sweet little 5 month old girl named Payton who breathed her last breath of earthly air on Friday morning and in that same instant breathed her first breath of celestial air. I have wept, pounded my fists, and in the depths of my heart cried out to God "WHY?" and yet I know that God's ways are not my ways. . . He in His infinite wisdom and mercy had reasons beyond what I can see on this earth and who am I to question His authority to give and to take away. My grief and confusion at her home going is only but a minute fraction of what her sweet parents are experiencing today and for days, months and years to come. They have walked intimately with one another and with the Lord through all of this and have really been a testimony of amazing measure to the Lord's faithfulness and goodness. Payton was born with a heart defect and I know that if you are reading this blog entry that you have probably received emails (if not from them) from us asking you to pray that the Lord would supply a heart for her or that He would choose to heal her and I thank you for praying for them and for her. God chose to sustain her life after her first heart surgery, He chose to give her a few months at home with her parents and then He chose to sustain her life again over 7 weeks on the ECMO (life support system) as they waited for a heart. . . God chose to provide a heart for this little girl. . . but then it would not beat within her little body. Everyone did everything they could possibly do. . . but God chose to take her home. From her first breath. . . to her last breath. . . as a new born and as an infant - she brought Glory to God. Her very life was a testimony of how He is the giver and the sustainer of life. . . Her parents love and adoration of her spoke loudly of God's unconditional love for us. . . I can't honestly remember the last time the Lord burdened me to pray for something SO hard. . . sometimes to the point that I was up late into the night. . . or waking up to pray for something specific related to her situation. . . or through tears dripping off of my chin. I've never even met this child. . . I know her parents but I've never even met her but my heart broke and cried out and bled to see her healed. . . for her to have a new heart - one that would be whole and complete. I didn't imagine that the Lord would choose to answer my prayer by taking her home to be with Him - where her body and her heart are new. . . complete. . . and perfect. Praying for her revitalized my prayer life. . . praying for her and watching her and her mom and dad walk through the fires they did. . . taught me and sometimes reminded me of WHO He is. The Giver of Life. . . the Creator. . . the Provider, The Lover of our souls, the Life Giving Spirit. . .the Great Physician. . .The Healer the list could go on and on. He is all of these things and more. Payton was too young to speak it. . . but God wrote it all into her DNA. He knit her together in her mothers womb and knew that this child would bring Him more glory in her short time on earth than many could bring Him in a lifetime. The road ahead will be difficult and painful for her parents as they walk through each and every birthday, mother's day, father's day, the day of her homecoming and of course each and every day that they are here on this earth without her. My heart and prayer is for God to continue to be to them the tangible Healer, Comforter, Provider, Lover of their souls, the Great I AM. Would you please take a moment to pray for Heather and Aaron right now?