For some reason when I woke up this morning, I was giddy about getting into my Isaiah study. Last night, President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed.  There is so much prophesy and promises in the book of Isaiah that I just knew I'd find something about this in there (which I did).

But, turns out, that's absolutely NOT the reason I was in the book of Isaiah today. My friend Holly held her newborn son yesterday and watched him pass away. He lived for a little more than 40 hours. It is difficult to see God's purposes in the midst of tragedy. When you are the mama of a child that has passed away, I'm imagining that it's difficult to have hope for tomorrow. While I've not been that mama, I have been the friend of that mama. And it hurts. As a mother, it hurts so deeply to watch another mother lose a child. You picture yourself in her shoes with your own children and the mere thought is more than you (I) can bear.

So, why was Isaiah important for me to read the day after baby Thomas passed away? Because of this (Isaiah 65:20):
 ²⁰ “Never again will there be in it
   an infant who lives but a few days,
   or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
   will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach a hundred
   will be considered accursed. "

I know. That's freaky. I mean, those are EXACT words for this EXACT situation! I'm still dumbfounded. Not a coincidence. Providence. I did not sit down to seek out hope. I did not seek out why God allowed Thomas to be born and die so quickly. But, I did seek Him and Him alone out and He gave me what I didn't even know I needed.

Now, I'm not Holly. I'm not the mom who is about to bury her newborn son. I don't know how this would effect me if I were her. But, as an outsider looking in, this verse gave me great hope. Knowing that while life today hurts, the future will not. I keep my eyes set on the day where "I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind." (Isaiah 65:17). I cry, I mourn, I'm sad. But, I'm also hopeful. This world is not my home. I cling to Him and trust that what He's said will come to pass.


There will be a day....

Some days everything rides on Hope.

Days like yesterday and today ride on Hope. Yesterday while I played in the sun with my kids, my friend Holly was clinging to life. Not hers, although it may have felt like it, but that of her newborn son, Thomas. Even as I write this, he's still fighting for his precious life. Baby Thomas was born with anencephaly, a condition in which his brain did not form. They did not know whether they would have a few minutes or maybe even a few hours with him. At this point, Holly and Aaron have been able to know their son for more than 40 miraculous hours. Not sure how much more time is left.

There are times that I get so, so, so mad at this situation. Why, God, oh why, would You allow a baby to be conceived, only to have him die shortly after birth? My heart is so beyond broken for my friend. I have tried to be encouraging to her. But truth be told, I really don't have anything to say. I don't know what she's going through. I cannot come along beside her and comfort her with words like, "I've been there."

While I don't know the full scope of why Thomas was born this way, I still have Hope. I can have Hope during my own life's storms or when I go through another's. I have seen how God works through tragedy in my own past. Seeing God move carries me through my- or someone else's- hardships.

Some days I have to rest in the truth that my life's storm, or another's, is not a surprise to God.
Some days I have to rest in the truth that God will do what God said He'll do.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 
Today, I have to rest in the truth that God loves my friend, her husband, and their newborn beyond their comprehension.
I have to rest in the truth that even in tragedy, God is there.

God is God.

Tragedy hurts. Tragedy makes us feel like we can't breathe. Tragedy makes us feel forgotten. And through it all, God... Is... God. He goes before us and comes up behind us. Some days we can't see Him through our hurt. Some days we can't feel Him move. Some days we don't even want to. But, all in all, no matter what, God is God.