The Beauty of Ministry

Throughout my time with Lydia, not only was I ministering to her, but my King Jesus was ministering to me.

During this time, He spoke this beautiful verse over me:

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" ~Matthew 25:40

Day after day, I sat by His side and fed Him. I held His hand as He was given extremely painful injections of the myriad of medicines He was on. I gently lifted Him and put Him into Selah's infant bathtub.  I sat by His side and bathed Him as He screamed in terror. As I held Him in my arms after His bath, my heart again broke.

King Jesus also sweetly reminded me of one of the verses I cling to when I feel as though "my" efforts are insufficient. To remind me that I am being used as His hands and His feet, and He is the One working through me. I am not called to do ALL of the work, but just the tasks He has assigned for me, with the help of the gifts He has placed in me. Ultimately, when I do what He has asked, it is Him who is doing the work, with me as the vessel.

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work." ~1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Day after day, Jesus sat by her side and fed her. Jesus held her hand as she was given extremely painful injections of the myriad of medicines she was on. Jesus gently lifted her and put her into Selah's infant bathtub. Jesus sat by her side and bathed her as she screamed in terror. As Jesus held her in His arms after her bath, His heart again broken.

The beauty of ministry is, this is NOT where the story ends! Jesus is in the business of transformation and restoration! 

Lydia has not remained in the state we found her. In fact, she is a different child today than when I first met her. The supernatural healing has begun, both inside and out. 

In addition to her suffering, I've been by her side for the amazing way she has progressed - by leaps and bounds!

Her first steps!

It is terrifying to look at a dying child and fall in love...But the incredible thing about choosing to invest in the "hard cases" is that you get to witness something truly miraculous! You get to see the hand of God at work in a very real way. I prayed for supernatural healing over Lydia. And daily God is showing up and answering that prayer.

Sweet kisses <3

Funny faces

Goofing around

The day she laughed for the very first time :D

(I plan to write an update about Lydia in our upcoming hard copy annual newsletter, so be on the lookout via your mailbox - yes, they do still exist :) - and if you would like to be sure to receive a copy, but are unsure if we have your address, please feel free to comment or private message my FB inbox)