Ali Martin
Wes and Amanda's little daughter, Ali, took a turn for the worse yesterday. She went home to join her sister at 2:00 a.m. this morning. They will be in the presence of the living G-d until the day we all receive new bodies (1 Corinthians 15).
The doctors had been clear that, unless Ali miraculously developed a formed brain, her lifespan could be a matter of hours or a matter of weeks. Even the worse case of hydrocephalus in the textbooks was better than what the Martin twins had had. All we could do was pray for a full healing or for the L-rd to take Ali home quickly--for it to end either way, as this battle has been long and exhausting for Wes and Amanda. At least now it is over.
I am so grieved for the Martins, especially since these were their first children. I am praying for comfort and for healthy mourning for the couple, and for protection for their next children. I don't think Amanda and Wes will get offended at G-d; they know too much about Him for that. But I wouldn't blame them for still asking, "Why us? Why weren't they born healthy? Why weren't they healed?"
I'm asking the same things. Is this just one more in a line of failures for the House of Prayer? In the short term, I think the answer is yes. The deaths of Luke Simmons and the Martin twins, along with the continued disabilities of several wheelchair-bound, blind, and mute people in our midst, are a stark reminder that we have a long way to go. Yet in the long term, I think G-d will use even this to teach us how to pray. I think He wants to cause IHOP to leave behind our complacent belief that everything's okay just because we have regular prayer meetings and because we operate healing rooms. We have to keep asking Him for the spirit of repentance and for the spirit of prayer.
The doctors had been clear that, unless Ali miraculously developed a formed brain, her lifespan could be a matter of hours or a matter of weeks. Even the worse case of hydrocephalus in the textbooks was better than what the Martin twins had had. All we could do was pray for a full healing or for the L-rd to take Ali home quickly--for it to end either way, as this battle has been long and exhausting for Wes and Amanda. At least now it is over.
I am so grieved for the Martins, especially since these were their first children. I am praying for comfort and for healthy mourning for the couple, and for protection for their next children. I don't think Amanda and Wes will get offended at G-d; they know too much about Him for that. But I wouldn't blame them for still asking, "Why us? Why weren't they born healthy? Why weren't they healed?"
I'm asking the same things. Is this just one more in a line of failures for the House of Prayer? In the short term, I think the answer is yes. The deaths of Luke Simmons and the Martin twins, along with the continued disabilities of several wheelchair-bound, blind, and mute people in our midst, are a stark reminder that we have a long way to go. Yet in the long term, I think G-d will use even this to teach us how to pray. I think He wants to cause IHOP to leave behind our complacent belief that everything's okay just because we have regular prayer meetings and because we operate healing rooms. We have to keep asking Him for the spirit of repentance and for the spirit of prayer.
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