Bring The Rain

This post is one that has been on my mind for several days now, and everytime I think I am going to write it; something else amazing happens. If you read my blog, you will know that last week was a very emotional week around here. One of my closest friends, who I have known FOREVER, lost her baby boy. She is currently still in the hospital as a result of the Pre-Eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome that she suffered which in turn caused her to have to deliver her baby so early. My friend and her husband have suffered the loss of a son, not once but twice, in the last 3 1/2 years....and although they grieve which they do; their faith has not wavered. Over the last 8 days I have witnessed.... sadness, joy, praise, heartache, thanksgiving and faith beyond my wildest imagination. I have been so blessed and broken at the same time, and during my uncertainty about what might result for my friend's health; I have experienced God and His undenying presence....I call these God Moments. I am only going to focus on the God Moments I have experienced through Bring The Rain in this post, because there have been several times He has revealed Himself to me through Angie's blog and my friend.
Let me start by telling you that I have only been reading Angie's blog, Bring The Rain, for a few short months. I saw her blog button, and it immediately caught my eye due to the title. As you may have noticed by listening to my new music I installed on my blog, I LOVE Mercy Me....Love them. I love their song "Bring The Rain"....hence the reason the title of her blog caught my eye. So I began reading it and her story of her beautiful daughter Audrey Caroline. Angie's faith and love relationship with Jesus is nothing more than truly inspirational. Shortly after I began reading Angie's blog, I sent her an e-mail. In it, I just told her that I had had a close friend experience the loss of a child 3 years ago....I had made my friend a digital scrapbook of her son and things leading up to and after his birth and death. In the book, I put the lyrics to many songs that I knew ministered to her and her husband during their suffering....one of those songs was "Bring The Rain". That was that....so I thought....until November came around and my lifelong friend shared the most exciting news with me....that she was expecting a baby! I immediately burst into tears of joy and anticipation at the arrival of their baby this coming April, but when I had a chance to speak to my friend....I could tell that her feelings were not the same....she was nervous and fearful and anxious. I asked everyone, on our prayer team and everywhere else, to pray for peace and comfort for her. I wanted her to be so excited about the baby as I had been everytime I had been expecting....feel the glow and joy of being pregnant, but I could tell she was anxious and concerned. Just a few short weeks ago, I decided to send Angie another e-mail asking her to pray specifically for my friend and her fears. I knew that she, having gone through losing her daughter, would know what specifically to pray for my friend. She, of course, agreed to be in prayer for them. Things were progressing right along when I received the dreaded news that something wasn't going well with my friend's pregnancy....her amniotic fluid had decreased, and the baby seemed to have stopped growing. The baby was still alive, moving, heart beating, etc.; so she was admitted to the hospital on New Years Eve to try to increase the fluid levels. Once again, I requested prayers from everyone I knew.....yes including Angie....the woman I had actually never met. She again so generously agreed to pray for them. Then January 5th, my lifelong friend's husband's birthday, she delivered a sweet baby boy Shiloh who lived for only a moment shortly after his birth. My friend was transferred to another hospital with bleeding on her brain, and the chaos began. That day as I was driving to the hospital where she had been transferred, with another lifelong friend, I began to tell my other friend the story of Bring The Rain and Angie and Audrey Caroline. As I was telling her that I had asked Angie to pray for our friend, both of our mouths dropped open a little and our eyes widened as I slowly turned up the radio to listen to what we so softly heard playing....."Bring The Rain" by Mercy Me. We felt God in that moment so strong that I literally felt like I could feel Him touching me. It was simply AMAZING....something I just can't describe. I didn't have a chance to read blogs much over the last week due to being at the hospital and spending time with my children when I could. I sat down on Saturday to send Angie another e-mail update about my friend, her health, and their baby; I decided to check in on her blog. I realized that she had been trying to upload a video for a few days but had been unsuccessful until that day....apparently the diagnosis given to her sweet Audrey had been given on Jan. 7th of last year. Angie wanted to show a video of Audrey's birth, some things they did as a family prior to her birth, and their family at her funeral. I knew, from being a mother myself, that this was going to be very emotional to watch but nonetheless I couldn't wait to see their beautiful baby. Before the video, Angie talks in her post about the peace that was in the room when Audrey was born and even when she left this earth....that peace that can only be EMMANUEL....God with us! As I watched the video, I saw the peace and felt it and remembered experiencing that same peace the day my friends lost their first son....I remember it so well. While visiting with my friends at the hospital on Sunday, the day after I watched Angie's video, we talked a lot about their loss of their boys. They talked specifically about the peace, that calm and peace that could only be provided by Our Lord, in such a time of heartache. Her husband said that peace was so good, and they have often longed for that peace again. My mind immediately went to Angie's blog and how I had witnessed that peace in her loss as well. Again I felt such a presence of God as we spoke about the peace on the day they lost their son....I felt like He was telling me that they are going to be okayAGAIN. Before I go on, I do need to tell you that although Angie knows about my lifelong friend and her circumstances; my lifelong friend does not know about Angie and her circumstances. I had planned on gently introducing my lifelong friend to Angie's blog....Bring The Rain....but she told me she was expecting about that time and was so nervous. I knew her mind was revisiting the loss of her first son so often, and I wasn't sure if the time was right for her to read about the loss of Audrey Caroline as well. Although I haven't told her about this sweet woman, that we don't know who has been praying for her, someday I will....I know that for certain. Then yesterday as I was sitting outside of the music class that my daughter is in, one of my friends from church was telling me that she had been reading the blog that my friend's husband had set up for family and friends to help keep them updated on her health. I had checked it early that morning but not since....she said, "He put music on the blog, and it's beautiful". When I got home, I immediately went to my computer to listen and.....you know what I'm gonna say? The first 3 songs he put on their playlist are 3 of the songs that Angie has on her playlist...."All That I Can Say" by the Dave Crowder Band, "Glory Baby" by Watermark, and you better believe it...."Bring The Rain" by Mercy Me. It may seem trivial to most but to me, it is such a comforting sign from above....such a God Moment! I am all about signs from God....I'll do a post on that sometime soon....and I'm so thankful that He sends them.