No new words, encouragements or updates tonight. Just trudging along through what seems like bucketfuls of sorrow. What else can I say, but that I don’t understand this at all. That’s the bare bones of suffering.
Thank you for praying
-Larissa
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All 8 of Us
November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am
I can’t even imagine the depth of your struggles and sorrow. I saw this hymn on another site’ and hope it might encourage your hearts.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
William Cowper – late 1700’s
Praying that these clouds of sorrow will soon burst forth with mercy and blessings upon your weary heads,
Thinking and praying for you all,
kathi baillie (from SGC Cherry Hill)
anonymous
February 9, 2008 at 4:12 am
And with heavy hearts we are praying.
anonymous
February 9, 2008 at 5:11 am
I’ve tried for a while now to write an encouragement, and it all sounds pretty weak. I guess it boils down to this … You are not alone, and you never will be.
God loves you.
Alicia Joy LeBlanc
anonymous
February 9, 2008 at 1:32 pm
We are with you, thinking and praying with all our hearts. God Bless
Azad & family
anonymous
February 9, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I wish that we who read of your struggles and pray for Ian and you all daily, could help carry the burden of your sorrow. We all know that God will get glory for Himself through this and are grateful. We know that the Lord is the ultimate Listener and Caregiver and wishes that we cast our burden on Him who is fully able to carry it and us. And we know that God has shown all of us mercy beyond anything we could ever deserve or truly understand, but I hate that you all struggle through this. May God bless you all, and strengthen you for another day.
anonymous
February 9, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Few of us will ever truly know what “suffering” means to the depth that you are experiencing it, my sisters and brothers.
You are in my prayers daily. I pray that though “sorrow is for a night, joy will come in the morning.”
Still praying!
Mary Ann K.
Bernadine
February 9, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I’m praying that God will uphold you in his strong right arm and give you the strength to go through this.
anonymous
February 10, 2008 at 2:40 am
Never fear, Larissa, because God is always with you. Christ will never leave you and He will always love you. Everything that He does is for His glory and the good of our souls. 🙂
anonymous
February 10, 2008 at 3:24 am
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.–2 Cor. 12: 8-10
Larissa, Thank you for not being afraid to show your weakness. When you are weak, He is strong. I wish I knew you well enough and lived close enough to comfort you in person, but I know that God is already embracing you in his loving arms.
I’ve recently been going through a season of struggle. My pastor told me that it is good for me to feel weak, small, and unable to “figure it all out”. It is when I am on my knees that I find the strength I need in Him.
He IS good. Don’t let anyone or anything (within or without) tell you otherwise 😀
Praying for you, as always.
Leah P.
(from the Christ Community Church in Reading, PA)
Vivi
February 10, 2008 at 3:36 am
“When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Praying for you and loving you. If you had no spiritual trials, it would mean you have no faith to be tried! It’s a precious faith, and must be tried, because God is faithful. May He be your strength and refuge.
sheep wanderer
February 10, 2008 at 10:36 pm
For you to understand would make you other than human. With our finite minds we cannot understand yet. I do not have a clue what that must be like for you all…that you keep going, in faith, with many questions remaining unanswered I’m sure, is amazing.
I continue to pray for you, much, I’ve never met you, but we are one with in Christ.
Liz, UK xx
anonymous
February 10, 2008 at 11:53 pm
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Continuing to pray for you and Ian. The endurence with which you carry on is given and blessed by the Lord, and carries a beautiful testimony of His grace. Keep fighting the good fight, running the race and keeping the faith. And may the Lord bless you and hold you strong.
anonymous
February 11, 2008 at 5:49 am
Many think that love is a feeling. As Valentine’s Day draws near there are movies and commercials that lead us to believe that warm, fuzzy feeling is love and a box of candy and some flowers are the way to show someone you love them.
Larissa, you have shown that love is an action. Flowers and candy are meaningless on that one day a year if there aren’t actions behind that love. You daily are showing us all what true love is… and it is hard, painful at times, enduring and never gives up.
When I see you an Ian together I have hope that Ian will be healed. I don’t see Ian in a wheelchair, I see the man you love and it spurs me on to keep praying and trusting in the Lord and to never give up.
Thank you Larissa for showing us all the most beautiful example of love and what real love really is.
Vicki G.
Sandy
February 12, 2008 at 4:09 am
Well said Vic. I searched for words and you found them. Thank you. Jesus is visible in you Larissa.
anonymous
February 13, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Larissa,
You don’t know me, but I am one of your sisters in Christ. I first learned of Ian’s tragedy on October 5, 2006 when my neice forwarded an e-mail from Steve detailing Ian’s accident and current status as he sat in a Carribou Coffee shop. The title of the e-mail is “Pray for Ian” and it is still in my e-mail folder so that, in my human weakness, I will not forget.
I understand at multiple levels the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual fatigue that comes with long-term disability as I am a physical therapist. Additionally, when I was 18 my mother passed through death into eternal life after a six year battle with cancer.
God has called us to lift you, Ian, and the entire Murphy family up in prayer. That’s no small thing. And He has called us to love you and to be part of your story, which is also no small thing. Trust that He will meet your every need.
Ian is still progressing. I can “see” him through your posts. Continue to hug him, kiss him, hold him, joke with him, and sing to him! Tell him everyday that his crazy brothers and sisters in Christ are praying for him and that God loves him more than anything! Then claim the same for yourself, Larissa. We love you.
Just one of your prayer warriors,
Janet Crosier
Sterling, VA