Before you get too far into this post, let me warn you, you will likely need some tissues, especially if you follow the links....also, this post is dedicated to my good friends, Chris and Shelley Talbott.
Two Sundays ago, during worship service at our church, I experienced one of the most touching services I've had in quite sometime. I've always been told that you get out of your worship experience what you put into it and on that Sunday, I was there ready to give it my all.
Service started with a young lady "needing to have Jesus RIGHT NOW!!" Shortly after our pastor read a few verses from the Psalms (and yes, when you say "the Psalms" you can add an "s" to the end...), she ran to him letting him know she could not wait any longer and wanted to be sure of her salvation and asked him to pray for her - right then. It was incredible!!!
Then, we had a guest speaker / preacher, Dean King. He is a member of our church and has a powerful testimony. You can hear the podcast by going here, clicking "Listen to Sermons" and then selecting the sermon by Dean King. The sermon will also be on YouTube soon so when it is, I will update this post. The visual aspect of the sermon really hit home so I am hoping that will be up soon.
Anyway, Dean's 15 year old daughter Olivia has been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, has had two liver transplants, has diabetes and coagulation deficiency yet her positive spirit and drive is unmatched! She has gone through so much more in her 15 years here on earth than many of us COMBINED will ever go through. What's more amazing is the strength, faith and positive spirit she and her family possess. It is truly amazing. You can learn more about Liv and her story here.
So, not only did the service start with the young lady wanting to express her desire to acknowledge Jesus as her Savior, which was moving enough....but Dean then followed by playing a video clip of the past few years of "the life of Olivia" including news footage from her surgery. I honestly don't believe there was a dry eye in the place.
The latter of the above, though, followed something that truly had me broken....
During the actual worship service, our praise team started singing "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman. To most people who have heard this song, you are probably now singing it in your head....or possibly out loud. It's one of those catchy songs and may or may not mean much more than it just being a "good song" to most of you. To me though, this song nearly brings me to my knees every time I hear it. In fact, I'm openly admitting that I'm breaking down right now as I'm typing.
A little over three years ago (August 28, 2008), one of my best friends, Chris, lost his baby girl, Elliana, after only 27 short days here on earth. She had Trisomy 13 which occurs in only 1:10,000 newborns each year. He and his wife, Shelley, were the ultimate pillars of strength during those days. It broke my heart reading and hearing what they were going through.
During the memorial service, "Blessed Be Your Name" was played. During those few minutes, I really listened to the words and thought, "wow....how in the world could you possibly be singing this now?" I mean, seriously - "You give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name." I would like to say that if I ever had to experience anything like that, my heart would allow me to say and believe the same. I believe I could, but it would be so hard. To see a father stand in front of a congregation and sing praises to the Lord and also be able to deliver a message to those attending (see below), all I can say is "wow"....that day will forever be etched in my mind.
Well, I've gone through enough Kleenex for one night. I wanted to write this post to let you guys (Chris and Shelley) know that I continually pray for you guys and miss you both dearly! I am so very proud, blessed, and honored to call you guys friends and even though we only see each other...oh...every 3-4 years :-) you will always hold a special place in my heart!!!! Love you guys!!!
A few additional links:
Slideshow from Elliana's memorial service
Words from Chris (transcript from the service)
Thanks, Ryan. That was really sweet. Any mention of our girl makes our hearts smile. It's always a blessing to know that people besides us still think about her.
ReplyDeleteAnd we miss you guys too--good grief, we had only had ONE baby the last time we actually got to hang out! We are still trying to work out a trip up there. We will keep you posted.