Because Thou Hast Done It

            Sometimes I just need to go back to the firm foundation and substance of the Psalms. When I read the words of King David I’m in awe of the amazing writer he was. The powerful sonnets he put to paper always reminds me how faithful my God is. But there is one particular Psalm that has a specific verse I never noticed until this week. It pierced my heart in a mighty way.

Psalm 52:8- I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it…

Wow, I can’t even put into words how much this verse blessed me. There is so much God has done for me my whole life, but in the last two years, He has gone above and beyond. Today, I just want to take time to remember and praise Him for one unexpected gift I never dreamed I would be a part of.

Writing Vespers for My Church’s Youth Camp.

So just what are vespers? They are thought-provoking mini-dramas to cause the kids who attend to examine whether they are where they need to be in their walk with God. Honestly, if you would have asked me in my early 20’s I would have told you I would probably be a girl’s counselor at camp by the time I was 30. But God knows what His children need and He opened this door two years ago. My assistant Sunday School Teacher, Ashlie Lansing pulled me aside after class one day and we had the following conversation.

“Pray for me, I was asked to be the head of vespers at youth camp and I’m not sure if I should do it.”

I squealed in excitement. “Oh, you’ll be great at that!”

“Uhh, I don’t know…”

“You totally would!” I assured her. “And if you need help, I’ll help in any way I can.”

That was the beginning of a God-ordained partnership. Ashlie and I have talked about this, but we never would have imagined we would be a team in this way. When I was seven, she was 16 and larger than life to me. I looked up to her and aspired to have a Christ-like relationship as she had when I became a teenager. It’s so surreal to me I’m now working with one of my role-models, but it was all in God’s plans because we completely edify and compliment each other. When God gives us an idea, I’m able to give it life with the words He gives me to write, and Ashlie is able to put the technology behind it that adds the power and awe it needs to complete the thought God impressed upon us.

Ashlie brings talents to this partnership that I can’t, including an amazing discernment sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and I’m able to pursue my God-given purpose and calling to write in a way I never expected. Ashlie often likes to say that God uses us the way He inspired the Bible. There were many different authors, but God is the inspiration behind it. I really believe God’s philosophy is why use just one of His children when He can use many because He knows how much it means to our souls to feel useful. Also, when several people work together and the final outcome is just right, then there is no doubt God was behind it.

The best part of Ashlie and I’s team is we realized we’re making an eternal impact on these kids. God has impressed on both of our hearts that our roles in creating vespers are a mission field. One day, God whispered in my heart, that the vespers performed each night aren’t just done and forgotten. He brings them the kids minds throughout the school year to give them the strength to be victorious amidst the temptation and peer pressure they face on a daily basis. Wow, that really challenged me! Immediately I felt the responsibility and magnitude of the task God had given me. The resolve to take this calling seriously became that much stronger. 

I don’t have children of my own yet, but I still love the Bible verse that says, train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he shall not depart from it. I realized that even though the kids that come to youth camp aren’t my own, God’s asking me to do exactly what this verse says through the words He has given to write- Train up these kids in the way they should go, so when they leave the safe confines of camp, they won’t depart God’s truth.

I praise God for the sweet friendship and team, Ashlie and I have formed. It has given me the perfect picture of what Paul meant when he wrote that the body of Christ should work together like the parts of the human body work together. I also praise God for the door He’s opened for me to use my writing in such an impactful way. And lastly, I praise God for the opportunity to put the Bible verse I love into action. 

So as you can see only the Lord could have done this. Now I ask you to pray. Ashlie and I have begun planning the vespers we believe God has given us. Pray they will be relevant to the issues these kids have to face. Petition God to plant these dramas into the hearts of every boy and girl that are there, so when they need strength, they can remember this source and draw from it. Ask God to help us be sensitive to the people who should be a part of each vesper and who He can use to help us portray the message we are trying to convey. Above all, pray if there are souls that need to be saved, God will use each play to convict and bring them to Him.

Because God has done it and He wants to do it again.

His Compassions Fail Not

I can’t do this anymore... was my thought that Sunday morning.

17 times my body had wracked from the deepest pits of my stomach. 17 times my mom had to hold my body up because I didn’t have the strength to keep myself from falling into the commode. For the past 24 hours, I hadn’t gotten any relief from severe nausea even after my stomach emptied itself. Every time I stood I worried my legs wouldn’t be able to support my weight.

I can’t do this anymore…Please, God help me…

“Mom, I need you to call the hematologist on call.”

Relief swept over me when Mom ended the phone call and told me the specialist said I needed to come to Nationwide Children’s. How I craved bags of fluid to replenish my body.

My Dad had carried me to the car and we began the trek to Columbus. My stomach showed no mercy and what my gut was producing was unlike anything I had ever seen. I wasn’t concerned I was suffering from a low hemoglobin like I had in the past when I’ve dealt with excessive vomiting. But the worry I was dealing with a ruptured or blocked bowel was very real.

Where were His compassions? I knew they were present, but at that moment in my sick state, I couldn’t feel them.

As I sat in a wheelchair in the registration line, I looked at the teenager in front of me and heard the cry of the baby behind of me and prayed I wouldn’t get in sick. But as another wave of severe nausea hit me, I prayed if getting sick in front of the registrar would allow me to be taken right back to a room, then I hoped it would happen. Right before I left the registration desk, my prayer was answered. The registrar jumped from her seat, “We’re taking her right back!” She picked up a microphone that connected to a loudspeaker to the inside of the ER, “Please be advised, we have a critical case coming your way.”

…His Compassions…

As the doors to the ER opened my eyes encompassed the concern looks on the doctors and nurses faces as they saw what was in the container I was holding.

“You don’t like what you’re seeing do you?” My mom asked.

The ER staff shook their heads.

“Yeah, I didn’t think it was good either.”

The ER staff worked quickly to hook me up to an IV to receive fluids as I was severely dehydrated and so they could check my blood levels. After a little while, X-ray techs came to my room with a portable X-ray machine to obtain images of my bowels and intestines. In my mind, there was a very real possibility I could be on an operating table within the next hour. The results came back and my bowels and intestines were perfectly intact. Shortly after I received those results I was told all of my blood levels stable.

…His Compassions…

After I dodged this bullet immediately another one came when I found out I would be admitted. Due to the nature of my illness, I wouldn’t be in the Hematology unit, I would be going to the Infectious Disease floor. Again, worry filled my heart. I had never seen an Infectious Disease doctor. They didn’t know me nor were they familiar with my complicated case. Would these doctors and nurses be in tune with the care I needed?

Monday morning, I saw the Infectious Disease Attending. She explained that I didn’t actually have the original diagnosis of the flu, but I was suffering from viral and bacterial infections in my stomach. She laid out her treatment plan which included consulting with my Hematologist and Immunologist at Nationwide Children’s as well as my medical team at the National Institutes of Health before she put her plan into action.

…His Compassions…

Tuesday morning, I continued to receive fluids and my blood levels were checked again. I finally felt I could handle more solid foods and began to feel strength entering my body again. That afternoon my doctor made her rounds again and revealed to me my white blood count was normal for the first time in my life. I had never heard the words from my doctor, “Your white blood count is normal.”

…His Compassions…

By Wednesday I was eating three solid and substantial meals a day and gaining strength with each passing hour. When my doctor came in that day she gave me exciting news. I recovered much quicker than she thought I would and she would be sending me home the next morning. 

…His Compassions…

It can be so difficult to see where God is when life’s trials knock you off your feet without warning. But here’s what I learned through this experience: God allowed me to go through this medical crisis to show me the healing He has done in my body. I know this may sound kind of funny- God allowed me to get sick, to show me I’m not as sick as I was?

But it’s true.

 The old Whitney wouldn’t have bounced back as quickly as she did. She would have been down for one to two months. The old Whitney’s blood counts would have plummeted. Her white blood count would have sky-rocketed from 30,000 to 60,000 instead of reaching normal levels. God was reminding me that He isn’t slack concerning His Promises and He would fulfill the one He had made to me. So friend, if you’re in the midst of a battle, be encouraged! Even if they are difficult to feel at first, His compassions fail not. In fact His mercies are new every morning. And His faithfulness is great!