This past week we celebrated an unusual event: the anniversary of a successful liver transplant for our then 6-year-old grandson, Mac. Mac’s tummy ache had developed into a life-threatening situation.
In order to live, he needed an immediate transplant. Many friends gathered in the hospital chapel to stay up all night with us praying for Mac. Many of you also prayed and we are forever grateful. God was faithful. He saw us through.
Today, 3 years later, we are still overwhelmed with gratitude. We will be for the rest of our lives. Every time we gaze into those big brown 9-year-old eyes, we see a miracle.
Thoughts on God’s faithfulness
It could have turned out so differently. Mac could have died. Another child did die. And those parents gave a liver so that our grandson might live. Where was His faithfulness to them?
A really hard question. One with no easy answers.
We can’t expect to understand the ways of God in this life. Isaiah puts it this way:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
If we could explain all about God, it would relegate Him to the level of man.
Walking as a believer is putting our faith in what we know to be true instead of what we don’t understand.
We know God is faithful.
We know He will never leave us.
Three years ago I clung to the promise from Deuteronomy 31:8:
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.”
This promise is repeated over and over in many places in the scriptures (Genesis 26:24, Psalm 121, Joshua 1:5 and other references).
It is relevant for us in every situation. We can lose anything, everything.
Except one thing: His presence.
He is a WITH ME God. He will not leave you or me. He will be with us no matter what.
We pray . . .
Today our prayers are full of gratitude; of course, we pray as well for the continued health of Mac’s young liver. But a big part of our prayer focus is for the parents of the child whose liver saved Mac. We long for them to know God’s comfort, to experience His blessing, and to somehow know that their gift has blessed thousands of people.
Little Mac has an especially tender spot in his heart for this child’s mother. Regularly he prays for her. And he longs to hug her. His deep desire is to meet her when the time is right for her family.
Libby and Mclean wrote a long letter to these parents. Among the many things they said were these:
Nothing can adequately be written or expressed to honor your decision of allowing organ donations. Even when we heard the helicopter land on the hospital roof–the one carrying the liver for our son, the miracle provided for his life–our hearts and souls cried out in sadness and rage for the loss you all were mourning. Our child was at the edge of death and this liver brought him back. We want you to know what a miraculous gift you have given and the newness of life you have enabled.”
Hospital protocol leaves it up to the donor family to respond to the letter. Otherwise they remain anonymous.
However this family is not anonymous to God. He loves them. He created their child. He aches with them and we pray that He will comfort them every day.
This family will always be a model to ours. One day we hope to hear from them but meanwhile we pray steadfastly for them that they will know the love and comfort of Jesus.
Likewise, if you have experienced great loss, I long for the same for you: an intimate sense of God’s presence, and the comfort and peace that only He can give.
A book that is helpful to anyone in a similar situation is Therefore I have Hope by Cameron Cole.
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grace kemp says
Dear Susan,
isn’t our God so wonderful and puts things in our paths that we are to hear at the right time – His time!
As I played catchup with emails this morning – that is what what your email was for me; coming at the Lord’s right timing.
thanks you for your consistancy in Jesus’s walk
much love
grace
(team)
Monica says
Thank you so much for sharing. Your post was forwarded to me by a friend.
We lost our 19 month old son in a tragic accident just 3.5 weeks ago. Like your family, we also had countless people praying around the globe for God’s miraculous healing. We all believed so deeply and without hesitation God was going to heal him. I knew there was no way He could ‘ignore’ that many prayers. When Axel died, we were devastated. Of course the immediate feelings were heart wrenching sadness, anger, confusion, doubt, among others. How could a God of love allow this to happen?!? We did everything right!
Shortly after Axel was declared deceased, we were consulted about organ donation. It wasn’t something we had even thought about and assumed he wouldn’t have any viable organs. He was able to give his heart to a 2 year old girl and his liver to a 1 year old girl, in addition to his kidneys to a young man. In the midst of our trauma and brokenness, we could start to see God working. Like you said, it’s a sad and tragic reality, that another family’s child must die for the child in need to live.
I love how you describe the arrival of his liver. I have only pictured those mommies and daddies rejoicing as their prayers for a miracle were answered, but to know you mourned with your donors family as well is so comforting. Like your family, I pray for our recipient families daily. I pray their bodies accept the organs and that these girls leave a legacy that wouldn’t have been possible without our sweet boy. I picture a family tree where their branch, would have been just that and ended with them, now has generations birthed beyond them.
We still grieve our son daily and I don’t think the pain will ever subside this side of heaven, but we take peace in knowing that he was a part of God’s miracle for other families. During that week he was in the hospital, fighting for life, a spiritual revival was triggered in all of those praying for him as well as those who witnessed our turn to God. We know of several salvation prayers that might not have occurred otherwise. In addition to birthing spiritual life, our baby boy was able to give life physically.
Thank you for providing perspective from the other side. We are hoping to one day meet our recipient families and love on those little girls.
Sarah Reimers says
Wow 3 years. I remember where I was when I heard the news. Thank you for the reminder to pray for they precious other family. Love you guys. Xoxo
Peggy Aderton says
Thank you for this intimate reminder of giving, expecting nothing in return, and death to resurrection: Just as Jesus did for each of us. I’ll join you in praying for that family who gave that Mac could live.
Nyiha Njoroge says
Thank you for sharing this dear friend Susan, indeed our loving Father is ever faithful. I thank God for Mac and pray for good health all the days of his life, with long life our faithful Father will satisfy him. For the anonymous family, may our God love and comfort them. In His wisdom, may He restore unto them.
Blessings from Kenya!