I called you out upon the waters

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise my soul will rest in your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and you won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

 

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong.

After listening to a friend sing this song in a worship service recently I realized that this song is my daily life! Is this not what God has been doing over the past three years to test my faith? Kari, will you step out of the boat ... to the unknown? I think the line that hit me the most was "you've never failed me and you won't start now". I started to reminisce on the fact that God has orchestrated my every step and will continue to in the future. Then it hit me, he orchestrates the steps of every single person I come in contact with. A face immediately came to mind. The face of a beautiful young woman named Angelique.

Angelique definitely hasn't had it easy. Over the past several years she has had a tumor on her face that has been slowly killing her bit by bit. She lost weight and became severely malnourished. I first met Angelique, many months ago, when I stopped by D ward looking for a supply and a little boy was running like a wild man around the ward. I later found out that he belonged to the tiny lady in a bed to my left. The tiny lady that covers her face with a cloth, barely (if even) sixty-five pounds, she knows ... you can see it in her eyes, without our help she will die.

The plan was to keep Angelique in the hospital for a matter of time and "fatten her up" with nutritional supplements and a lot of love. But it just wasn't working fast enough, the tumor was going to suffocate her before she was at a healthy weight. The decision was made to go ahead with the surgery and pray for the best.

 

The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.

- Psalm 41:3

 

She survived the surgery but was not out of the woods yet. Because of her malnutrition her wounds had a very hard time healing. It took several months of continued nutrition, antibiotics, wound care and of course a lot of love/encouragement before she started to turn a corner.

 

After her first surgery.

 

First look at the new face.

 

 

My friend Amy (featured in the photo above) told me about one particular moment that really touched my heart. Amy and Angelique were sitting on the deck getting some fresh air and Angelique started giggling. She would bounce her leg then giggle. Amy suddenly realized what was so funny. For the first time, in a very long time, Angelique had a little jiggle in her leg when she bounced it. Over and over she would bounce and giggle. I wasn't there, but I can only imagine how adorable this interaction was. All over the world women worry about a little extra jiggle here or there but here, nope it's cause for celebration! Another need for celebration ... new hair! One of my favorite things to do when I see Angelique is play with her new hair. Because she now has nutrition she has new super soft, beautiful curly hair. She giggles whenever I rub her head, which in turn of course makes me giggle. Yep, it's pretty adorable.

 

I'm not the only one that loves her new hair.

 

Back to the point, the other day when I was singing those beautiful Hillsong lyrics and had the thought of Angelique it also came with a word. Pray! Like right now ... with her. To say this is something new for me is an understatement. God was calling me out upon the waters, the great unknown. Pray for Angelique, pray for healing from a tumor that will return and claim her life. Yes, we were able to remove most of the tumor this time, but it was just buying time for her to spend with her two babies. It will return and will most likely take her life. So what did I do? I walked down the stairs to the ward of course. Do you know how bad it feels in your gut to hear God tell you to do something and not do it. Cest par bon (it's not good)! Immediately when I walked in we saw each other, she smiled and said "Bonjour!". I asked if I could pray for her, she enthusiastically nodded her head and immediately closed her eyes. This made me giggle a little, okay then here we go. It was a simple prayer just asking God to heal her and send her back home to her family whole and healthy. I opened my eyes before saying Amen and she looked so peaceful and beautiful. I said Amen and she immediately enveloped me in her arms and said "Merci". Yep, I could have cried right there. I spent a few more moments with her and then left her to get some rest.

 

Yesterday I attended the church service in the wards. As soon as I walked in I spotted her, but she looked different. No more NG tube to drip nutrients into her stomach, no more bandages, as I looked at her I was taken aback by how beautiful and "normal" she looked. Her cheeks have filled about a bit and there is an always present sparkle in her eyes now. She may not have physical healing yet, but through this whole process I can tell you that she definitely received emotional healing, she will go home whole and alive to care for her children.

 

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters"

Will you join me in trusting that God can completely heal Angelique physically?