Lemonade Stands and Window Panes

This morning at 4:30 my Mamma and Sarah pulled out of the drive way to embark on their journey down to Mexico for Sarah's medical treatments for a couple of weeks.  I stood at the end of the driveway and waved until I couldn't see the car lights in red against the darkness anymore.  And then I prayed one more plea that God would so choose to heal her through this clinic in Mexico.

I'll be completely honest, this has been one of the most difficult summers of my life.  Watching your little sister suffer through chronic pain day after day is like someone punching you in the chest over and over again.  The ache doesn't go away, and I can't fix her.  So I pray.  Sometimes I feel like I'm saying the same things over and over again.  Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to the white ceiling above me.  Sometimes I don't have words at all, just silence and a hurting heart.  And oh how good it is to serve a God who knows the depths of our hearts when we cannot express them.  This week especially I feel like God has been showing me that He loves my family and I through the body of Christ, through community, through children's lemonade stands, through local businesses, through friends across the country, and through answered prayer in minutes.

A little blond haired girl sat on a chair on the sidewalk and called out to passing cars, "Lemonade for a donation!" Two more girls and a boy sat behind their little table decorated with American flags, big pitchers of lemonade, and homemade signs.  They were having a lemonade stand to raise money for Sarah's medical costs in Mexico.  These kids didn't even know Sarah.  Lori, the mother of two of the kids, used to work at the library in town that Sarah and I often visited as children.  She told her kids that she wanted them to grow up in a community where they saw community caring for each other.  I don't know who got the idea for the lemonade stand, but all I know is that I saw the love of Jesus through the actions of these sweet kids.  They poured me a cup of lemonade and we talked for a bit.  They had never even met Sarah or I before, but yet here they sat out in the hot sun collecting donations for Sarah.  A UPS driver who had stopped for a quick snack, when he discovered that the money was for medical expenses, threw a $10 bill into the tin.  That's just one story of the many who visited their little stand that afternoon.  That night Sarah brought home a coffee tin stuffed with bills.

Monday night, a couple from my family's church hosted a fundraiser at the local Pizza Ranch for Sarah as one last benefit before she left today.  A portion of the night's profits would be donated to our family along with any donations left in a bucket on the front counter.  I spent a couple of hours washing dishes with some teenage girls in the kitchen who had come to volunteer their time.  When I stepped out of the kitchen, I was overwhelmed with how many people were packed into that little restaurant.  I've never seen that many people there for any fundraiser in my entire life.  That night my mamma and I counted the bills and checks as we sat on the living room floor.  To say that we were overwhelmed with the generosity of our community would be an understatement.  There were so many people there from relatives to fellow church members to Sarah's piano students to Sarah's and my friends since high school.  God shows up strong through people that He has placed in our lives.  I'm convinced of it.

Last night I just happened to glance out the window of a friends house as the sun was setting out in the country.  I saw the sunlight paint a beautiful golden hue on the
wheat in the fields and the leaves on the trees.  The sky was filled with all different shades of orange and pink and yellow.  And I remembered again, that life, with all of its pain and aches is yet beautiful.  Our God does not forget about us.  Those children and their kindness, the hug of friends, the support of community members, and the prayers of the body of Christ across this country show me the compassion and heart of God.  He is looking out for us.  There is beauty in the midst of pain.  As I stood there by the window, my God impressed upon my heart that He is indeed good.  He is indeed faithful.  He has not forgotten my family and the ache in our hearts.  And that life really is beautiful.

So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has come around my family these past couple of months as Sarah's pain has grown worse.  You have shown us the love of Christ.  You have reminded me that we are never alone, and that God if faithful.  I'm thankful for a God that remembers us in our brokenness, for sunsets and little window panes and summer nights, for serving hands, for the generosity of children, for tears that point me back to you, and for teaching me over and over again that You are strong when we are weak.  He knows that we are not strong enough on our own.  He knows.  Thank You Jesus for being my strength.  I pray that You would give Sarah strength as she begins medical treatments.  I pray that You would remind her that You love her so much more than we ever could.  Thank You Jesus for never leaving us alone.