Eleven of us formed a circle in a house no bigger than the size of my living room.
We arrived less than an hour before, passed out dozens of cups of porridge, and were now meeting for the weekly Bible study with a group of ladies, as we do every Wednesday morning.
The pastor opened us in prayer and began the message in their language.
One older woman rocked a newborn in his rope swing. Fingers leafed through Bible pages. Ladies went back and forth speaking Tagalog.
As things were coming to a close, the pastor looked at me and began explaining that the lady across from me, holding her four year old son close, needed prayer. Her little boy had fallen a bit ago and seriously hurt his neck.
While he cried on her lap throughout our entire visit, I thought he was just a fidgety little kid. When the pastor went on, I realized he had been in pain. His neck was swollen and his mother had been trying to comfort.
We gathered to pray for God to heal this little boy and ease his pain.
As we finished, the mother spoke to us through our translator.
She asked for us to pray for her husband. She explained that her family had lost their first son five days after birth. The boy with the hurt neck was their second child. As her husband saw their second son’s pain after already losing their first, he was angry with God. She wanted us to pray for her husband’s heart to heal.
My heart broke in half as she shared. I didn’t understand her faith- how her request hadn’t been for her injured son but for her angry husband. My mind couldn’t fathom that she isn’t frustrated with the Lord for what happened but that she wanted her husband to see God’s glory.
I pray my trust would grow that strong. Imagine the beauty of knowing God will take care of you in all circumstances and living that faith out every day.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14
