This precious angel has taken hold of my heart. Just thinking of her face, I am filled with so much emotion. God has placed her on my heart in a huge way. When I think of Glory, the word Hope always comes to mind. I wrote a bit about Glory in my previous blog but I feel like there is more to say.. Glory's story is not over.
On our first visit to the hospital We walked in to see a baby, blue in the face, fighting with what little strength she had just to breath. It was then that we were told the story of little Glory. When she was just a few weeks old, Her fourteen year old, Chinese birth mother abandoned her. Just when it seemed there was no hope for her, a Malay woman named Rani adopted her, saving her life. While speaking with Rani, she told us that she believes that Glory's birth mother had taken some kind of medicine in an attempt to abort her. Glory lived. At a year and 2 months old, Glory is around the size of a six month old baby. She is deaf and her legs are so weak they fear she will never walk. But Glory is a fighter.
During our initial introduction to Glory, her mother unfolded the blanket wrapped around her and my heart broke. When I laid my eyes on her trembling, sickly body, they filled with tears. That image is burned on my brain. We circled around her and prayed. We prayed for a miracle. We prayed for God's healing power to rain down and restore life to her frail, little body.
The next evening, we split into teams to pray over all of the children in the wing of the hospital we were in. Though I did not have the opportunity to pray over Glory that evening, I was incredibly blessed to hear from one of my teammates that the moment they walked into the room, Rani ran up to them, her face shining like the sun, to inform them that Glory had improved during the night. No longer did she struggle to breath as she had the evening before.
Saturday evening, as we split into teams, I hoped I would have the opportunity to pray over Glory again. God delivered. My teammate Emily and I were the ones that would be praying over Glory. Emily began the prayer. Afterwards, as we stood talking with her mom, we were blessed to be able to encourage her. I pray that the words that were spoken brought her hope and spoke life into her. She told us that Glory had not been sleeping. With so much going on around her, I'm really not surprised. Glory struggled to pull out her feeding tube as I began to pray for the Holy Spirit to fill her with a spirit of rest. I prayed that she would sleep soundly. A few minutes later, as we stood, praying over her silently, Little Glory closed her eyes and she slept. Who knew a sleeping baby could fill a person with so much joy? As I watched her breathing grow heavier all I wanted to do was shout praise to God. But, as not to wake her, I closed my eyes and with the biggest smile on my face I silently raised praises to the Father.
Sunday is our day off. Though I was so looking forward to spending time relaxing with WiFi and coffee at the local Starbucks, I can't help but long to return to the hospital to see Glory and her mother. But I still pray. Every time her little face pops into mind, I lift her up to God.
Oh, Lord… keep working. Keep healing. Restore, renew… move in Glory's life that she may one day praise your great name.
Today, I'm filled with anticipation to return to the hospital to see how she is doing. Even in her frail movements, I can see her tenacity. The beauty that shines through her eyes is breathtaking. I think her name is so appropriate. I firmly believe that her life is going to bring glory to God. I have no doubt that he has big plans for her.
Please join me in fighting for this little girl. She is growing stronger everyday, but she still has a long way to go.
Glory's story is still not over.
