Since we've been playing the waiting game all weekend, we had a few more minutes to take some pictures. Saturday she opened her eyes alot, but today she seems to be in more pain and fighting a little harder to breathe and just wants to sleep. Thank you again for lifting little Rylee up in your prayers.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Taking her place...
Today was the first time that Rylee opened her eyes and began looking around. When I spoke to her she responded by looking up at me as if she knew me. This was a wonderful moment, but also a very difficult one. I knew Rylee was hurting and I saw her struggling to breathe. I would do anything to take her place, but I couldn't.
Then I had this thought: there are many people in life that don't believe in God or see God as an impersonal force in the universe. There are also people that believe in God but they don't believe he is loving. If you fit into one of these categories, consider this: humans are flawed, imperfect creatures, capable of awful crimes. Some have said we are the only species that destroy our own. Yet, even with such a terrible record, a stunning characteristic remains. This characteristic can be described like this: today, I wanted to take my suffering child's place.
Some may try to postulate a naturalistic explanation, but there is none. Why would a fully grown man with a wonderful wife, great job, good friends, nice house, who is very happy, stable and doing good things in the world ever want to give up his life for a helpless baby that has accomplished absolutely nothing in life? It's absurd! Yet, there I stood ready to take her place. It defies human logic and naturalistic explanation. However, it bears every evidence of a divine touch.
There was a time when God looked down upon the terrible condition of the human race. He looked down and was grieved at what we had become. But was God unable to act? No! He did exactly what I wanted to do for my little girl but couldn't. Why is it so hard to imagine that an infinite God could take on human flesh and bear the sins of the entire world? It wasn't hard for me to imagine taking my little girl's place there in the bed. If we had the technology I would have done it. You see, within our very being there lies the mark of this divine truth: that God himself took our place; he suffered so we could be free.
If I could take my baby girl's place of suffering, I would. Why, then, is it so hard for us to believe that God would not do the same for us? Am I capable of loving more than God?
What an incredible evidence of the reality of God and his sacrificial love. Maybe this helpless little baby has accomplished something remarkable after all.
Then I had this thought: there are many people in life that don't believe in God or see God as an impersonal force in the universe. There are also people that believe in God but they don't believe he is loving. If you fit into one of these categories, consider this: humans are flawed, imperfect creatures, capable of awful crimes. Some have said we are the only species that destroy our own. Yet, even with such a terrible record, a stunning characteristic remains. This characteristic can be described like this: today, I wanted to take my suffering child's place.
Some may try to postulate a naturalistic explanation, but there is none. Why would a fully grown man with a wonderful wife, great job, good friends, nice house, who is very happy, stable and doing good things in the world ever want to give up his life for a helpless baby that has accomplished absolutely nothing in life? It's absurd! Yet, there I stood ready to take her place. It defies human logic and naturalistic explanation. However, it bears every evidence of a divine touch.
There was a time when God looked down upon the terrible condition of the human race. He looked down and was grieved at what we had become. But was God unable to act? No! He did exactly what I wanted to do for my little girl but couldn't. Why is it so hard to imagine that an infinite God could take on human flesh and bear the sins of the entire world? It wasn't hard for me to imagine taking my little girl's place there in the bed. If we had the technology I would have done it. You see, within our very being there lies the mark of this divine truth: that God himself took our place; he suffered so we could be free.
If I could take my baby girl's place of suffering, I would. Why, then, is it so hard for us to believe that God would not do the same for us? Am I capable of loving more than God?
What an incredible evidence of the reality of God and his sacrificial love. Maybe this helpless little baby has accomplished something remarkable after all.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
I week later...
It has been a week now since Rylee has been in the NICU at Loma Linda. We haven't really been in turist mode throughout all this, but here are a few shots that we managed to take along the way:
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