on earth as it is in heaven

I will praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion...

Psalm 103

The Lord has been speaking a lot to my heart recently about healing, hope, and the promise of redemption. It is a lot to put into words, but I'm working on it ;) Until then I wanted to leave you with a VISUAL of healing, hope and redemption. How blessed I am to serve a God who always provides me with tangible examples of His promises.

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will remeber my sweet friend, Michael. I wrote about him here, here, and here. If you haven't, please read these stories so you can get a full picture of God's miracles in this precious little life! I met Michael in August of last year and felt fairly certain that he was on death's doorstep, or if not, pretty close. His hair was white and fuzzy, his face swollen, his growth stunted, and his skin just about peeling off, all from severe malnutrition. After doing everything I could for him while keeping him in his home and seeing very little imporvement, our family decided to move him in with us as we nursed him back to health. What a blessing it was to watch this sweet treasure's little personality come out as he began to flourish! I dreaded the day I had to take him back to his step mother, who had been the one to so neglect him in the first place, but I was hopeful as I had been meeting with her several times a week to encourage her to care for this little boy (for the record, it is very uncommon for step parents in Ugandan culture to respond favorably to their step children as they are usually the result of the husband having multiple wives and there is a lot of jealousy involved). I call it nothing less than a miracle that not only did she begin caring for him, she began really, deeply loving him, a love that he so deserved but had not experienced until he lived with our family. This once shy, lifeless little boy who I couldn't get a word out of for weeks, now runs after my car each time I drive through his village yelling, "Auntie Kate! Auntie Kate! I love you! I'm fine now! I'm fine now!" with the biggest sweetest grin I have ever seen spread across his face. I could keep writing. I could try to find words enough to praise my Loving Father. They would not be sufficient. I will leave you with this...

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. -Psalm 40:2-3

Michael on the day I first met him, August 2009

Bandaging his blistered and cracked little feet.

Michael after a few days at our house enjoying a BIG peanutbutter sandwich!

Michael the night before I took him back to his home.

Michael a few days ago, February 2010... Talk about a transformation!

"Behold, I make all things new..." Revelation 21:5