Lindy Davidson

In 2002, my son spent the first four and a half months of his life in the hospital.  There were several times I thought he might die, and the future, both his and mine, seemed so uncertain.  As I looked around the hospital, I saw many other parents struggling with the same thing.  Having a sick child is devastating, however, even in the darkest of times, I was never left without hope. 

When I was 9 years old, I was introduced to someone who promised to be with me always if I was willing to let him.  I said “yes,” and he has never let me down.  His name is Jesus Christ.  For many years I went to church and learned more about Jesus Christ.  I sang songs about him, memorized verses in the Bible and was excited to learn of his love for me and for others.  When I became an adult, I continued to study formally about Jesus Christ.  I spent three years in seminary doing in-depth study of the Bible and the person and work of Jesus Christ.  I had a very strong knowledge of who he was, yet there had been little in my life to test my faith.  That is, until my first son, Will, was born. 

It seemed as if the doctors were trying to tell me all the possible ways he could die.  My husband and I were very frightened by this, but we continually prayed and we asked everyone we knew to pray for us and for Will.  My prayers were shaped by my deep study of God’s word.  I asked not only for healing but also for joy and for a life that would give honor and glory to God.  I had learned that God’s plan is huge and that it is not simply for me but for all the world.  As one small person, I get to participate in something that is a blessing to me and also helps me to be a blessing to others.  This is what I desperately wanted for my family, to be blessed and to be a blessing, no matter what happened. 

During those first four and a half months of Will’s life, there were many dark days.  In the times I struggled the most, what I found was that Jesus Christ was present comforting me.  I had imagined the most horrific events of life, like the death of a child, would be awful because Jesus would not be in that darkness.  What I found, though, is that Jesus has gone before me in every place I may ever have to go, and that His good and perfect will, no matter how difficult to understand, will always lead me to joy and to peace.  He has experienced death and now lives on the other side of  it, offering that kind of a life for us as well. 

Jesus says in the Bible in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Trouble is all around us, and the future is uncertain in many ways, but one thing I can be sure of, that Jesus Christ has conquered this world of trouble and living out my days united with Him is God’s very best gift for me and for my children. 

May God bless you richly and may He make you to be a blessing,

Lindy Davidson

Lakeland, Florida

USA