February 28, 2022
By: Tiffany Pearl
Update on Bella:
I woke up this morning to the birds chirping. It was a sound I haven’t heard for a while but I was thankful to hear it. It gave me peace and reminded me of a scripture that is one I often read and reflect on…it’s from the book of Matthew chapter 6…and ironically (but not) as I had my devotion time this morning, it came up again, particularly this part …
“You of little faith…so do not worry , saying, “what will we eat? What shall we drink? Or what shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Therefore do not worry about tomorrow , for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”
Worry…fear…doubt…these are emotions that have crept in over the past few weeks when my mind starts to get too far ahead. When I ask the “what ifs?” When I start to figure things out on my own. When I think about a year from now…6 months from now…6 days from now. You of little faith…I hear those words in my head on repeat when my mind starts to wander like this. And I know Jesus is there, reminding me I don’t have to worry. Reminding me that He can be trusted. Reminding me I don’t have to think that far ahead. Reminding me I don’t have to have the plan all figured out. Because He does. He proves time and time again that He is faithful and when we seek Him with all our heart, this is very clear, He shows us in so many ways. But we don’t always have our eyes open to see the evidence of His goodness all around us.
We saw this very clearly this weekend as Jason, myself and Bella ventured down to New Jersey to get a second opinion on Bella’s radiation treatment. Two weeks ago, we didn’t realize we had other options until a friend mentioned we might want to get a second opinion. From there, that’s exactly what we did…Jason spent the next week reaching out to hospitals and doctors across the country. We could see how God was orchestrating so many details in this and finally landed on a clinic in New Jersey that offers Proton Radiation, which is the best option for Bella. I kept praying for God to guide us in this decision , but to be quite honest, I wasn’t sure how we were going to know this was the place He wanted us to go. We hopped in the car Thursday and headed down to Somerset, New Jersey for a Friday appt with the doctor. We weren’t sure what to except, but I kept telling myself and Bella, “the Lord goes before us, do not be afraid.”
We were very familiar with the drive to New Jersey, we just so happened to live there about 12 years ago for a very (very) brief time frame. So when the gps had us get off at the exact same exit we used to live off of, we couldn’t believe it…really?! Everything was so familiar, as if we had never left. We drove about another twenty minutes to pull into the hotel parking lot. It was dark outside by then, and all that could be seen was a giant lit up cross that hovered over the hotel from a church behind us, it must have been about fifteen feet tall! Really?! After a somewhat good night’s sleep, we headed to the clinic for our morning appt. The waiting room was welcoming and warm, and as I sat down next to the fireplace I noticed a rock on the table next to me, on it was painted a beautiful sketch of a town and it read “a rock from Jerusalem”. What?! As I sat down, thinking how ironic that was, Jason pointed up…he said “do you hear what they are playing?” I hadn’t noticed the music yet, because honestly it was just normal to me, sounds I always hear coming from my car radio (despite my kid’s best effort to change it). They were playing a Christian radio station…what?! As I sat there in the waiting room, listening to “waymaker” I couldn’t help but be filled with gratitude to God. There were just too many coincidences pointing to Him for this not to be the place for us. It didn’t stop there , the day continued like this … including a generous offer to allow us to stay at a home only fifteen minutes from the clinic from a complete kind and generous stranger. WHAT?!?! We can confidently say that God has brought us to this clinic for the next step in caring for our sweet girl, Bella. She will begin her radiation treatment on March 8 for 6 weeks in Somerset, NJ. Although this will be hard to be gone for that amount of time, we know it is only temporary and it is what is best for Bella’s treatment. We know this is where God wants us.
I think many people wouldn’t notice these things, or maybe would count them as coincidences. But we know they are evidence that God is all around us, fighting our battle, preparing a way, guiding us in the direction He wants us to go. God is faithful, He does have a plan, He does go before us. We do not need to worry, fear, or doubt His plans. Instead, we can put our trust in Him because our Heavenly Father knows our needs. He truly is a Waymaker.
Whatever you are walking through today, seek Jesus through it. Have faith. Give your cares and worries to Him. Open your eyes to the ways God is revealing Himself to you today. He is working all around you and He will show you the way.
-Tiffany