When I was in high school, I loved to make signs with Bible verses or famous quotes. I would fill pages with colorful block letters and swirly designs. I would hang them in my locker, or mirror, or bulletin board.
Once, I made a sign with a few verses from Psalm 139.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Years later, I found the sign hanging in my sister, Dana’s room.
Tonight I had the pleasure of talking to Dana for the first time since being on the race. We filled the awkward silence of our conversation with small talk about things that don’t really matter. Feeling defeated by the conversation (or lack thereof), we decided to wrap up our phone chat. Before hanging up, I had the urge to tell her what I had called to say in the first place.
I fought back a flood of tears as I told her how much I loved her and how much God loves her and how I was praying for her everyday and how everyone in my team is praying for her. I told her how beautiful she is and how God wants to use her and bless her. I told her that God is not going to give up on her and that He wants to fight for her, that I want to fight for her. I told her that the battle is already won.
I flashbacked to a night in Ireland. It was girl’s night at The Spinnaker where we held our worship nights. I remember praying and seeing in my mind’s eye this sign I had made in high school. The sign with Psalm 139. I felt like I needed to pray that for my sister. When I was praying for her, I felt the weight of my own compassion for her. I started crying and asked my squad mates to pray for her as well. Then, 28 girls laid hands on me and shouted the most powerful prayers to heaven as we battled for my sister.
Afterward, I couldn’t stop thinking about Psalm 139. I knew that I needed to share that with Dana, so I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer.
The next few days, I kept coming back to the Psalm. It would coincidentally appear throughout the week. I misplaced my Bible one day and borrowed Marissa’s. I opened to where she had marked her place- Psalm 139. Another day, I noticed one of my squad mates had written on her arm “Psalm 139.” These things kept happening.
So last night, while on the phone with Dana, as I was frantically telling her all the things I wanted her to know, I again thought of Psalm 139. I told her that when I am thinking about her and praying for her, this passage always comes to my mind. She started crying and told me that she had lost the sign I had made years ago, but just found it packed away in an old box that morning.
