I wanted to share a story with you, for those of you that did not see my link on Facebook this week.
If you click on the link it will take you to our Asia Pacific News Website where you can read an article written by Dr. Jim Radcliffe, who is our missionary surgeon on station. The article was titled "Medical Failure Turns into Spiritual Success", about a matriarch whose passing caused a bit of a stir.
So many times we look only to our current situation and morn the depth of the situation or even dwell on the failures and disappointments. All the while, unbeknownst to us, God is orchestrating something so much bigger than we could even imagine. I was reminded this week of Ephesians 3:20, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." I was reminded once again (I'm a little slow, sometimes many reminders are needed!) that He is big, He is in control, and He is able. Out of the ashes we will rise...out of our complaining, out of our doubt, out of our loss...He will use it all. He will use the situations that look bleak and hopeless to make change. "More than we might ask or think..." He will use each of us and the situations that surround us to change the hearts and minds of our brothers, our sisters, our mothers, our fathers, our neighbors, our friends, our children.
I don't know about you, but I can get so caught up in the to-do's of daily life, the good and the bad, that I forget that out of winter comes spring...comes new life! Here in Papua New Guinea, grieving is such a part of daily life and in a way that western society cannot even imagine. The girls and I often make at least a weekly trip to the north end of station in which more often than not we pass the morgue only to witness another family grieving the loss of yet another family member, another father carrying his lifeless child, another loss, another heartache. My hope is that like Gertrude and her line, the family in Dr. Jim's story, I will choose each day to be an opportunity to have victory over my heartaches. I will choose to trust in the one who is able to handle more than I might even think or ask. And I will choose to celebrate and rejoice for this day that God has given me.
We went to sing and pray with patients at the hospital this morning and my heart is heavy for a little girl with Pig Bel (a fatal type of food poisoning), they operated on her several weeks ago and her prognosis is bleak. Tonight as we prayed for little Haddi I thought of how God has a plan for each one of us. It may not be what we expected or what we want, but if we trust in Him He will not disappoint us. He will use our lives, no matter how short or long, to to do so much more than we could even ask or think. So, I want you to know that even at the ends of the earth, in PNG, God is at work. He is using lives to change peoples hearts and minds towards Him. He is using you and He is using me in such a way that we cannot even dream. Don't waste today, but use your situation no matter how marvelous or how bleak, to glorify Him and out of this season will come more than you could ever imagine.
Blessings,
Stephanie Peterson
Kudjip, PNG
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Gracyn and I praying with Haddi and her mama this morning...attempting to use our broken pidgin!
Praise God that he knows our hearts and minds, because I'm still working on the Tok Pisin. |
