"....Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through
the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will
not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the
Holy One of Israel, your Savior...." Isaiah 43:1-3
The above Bible verse is my life verse. I say that not just because I absolutely love what it says, but because in very key times in my life, this is the verse that led me through them.
In 2003, while preparing to go on a missions trip to Haiti, I wrote this verse on a manila envelope and placed all my travel documents I would need for the trip inside. I was very nervous about taking that trip, and I prayed this verse many times in preparation.
Haiti was life changing. Honestly, I could have spent the entire time at the orphanage we visited on the first day. All those sweet babies want is for someone to hold them and care for them. Oh the sadness! It brings tears to my eyes as I remember those little darlings. When we arrived, there were about ten or so ranging from maybe eight months to two years (Its hard to tell because their development was so behind- some could have been three or four) laying haphazardly on benches and mats on the floor. Some were laying in puddles of their own urine! What little time we were there, we spent holding them.
The rest of the trip we spent camping near a teensy village outside of Port-au-Prince (I think that's right- its been so long!) doing Bible school and giving out clothes and stuff, while others worked on building a school. During a mini monsoon holding beach towels up trying to keep rain out of our tent, while trying to go to sleep with creepy voodoo drums being played nearby, and while the door to the church/school was being stormed by eager villagers desperate for clothing and supplies- I had this in mind- "I will be with you...."
So fast forward a couple of years, and I am twenty one years old and in ICU with a baaaaad kidney infection and a nasty case of pneumonia. At one point I told my mama- "I'm too tired. I can't do this anymore. I just want to die." I really felt like that. It was just soooo hard trying to breathe. I couldn't eat. I couldn't hardly move. I remember my dad spooning broth in my mouth like I was a baby. He'd say, "Good girl, now just a little more. That's good." I'm not trying to be depressing- that is just how bad it was- and the broth was when I was actually starting to get better. At the turning point, I was laying in the darkened room, an oxygen tube in my nose and a mask over that. and my mom had a paper in her hands. She said a prayer group had been praying for me (I think it was Trinity, but I was so out of it, I can't remember.) and had given her a verse to read over me. She started, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you..." and proceeded to read the verses. She choked up as she read. Tears were streaming down my eyes. I knew I had a purpose for being on the planet. God wasn't through with me. I would live and not die! By the middle of the next day, I was out of ICU and in a regular room. I also received a card from a sweet lady at Lifeway with that verse on it. I held onto that dear promise from God, and was out of the hospital by that Saturday. The next Saturday, I was at a Georgia game!
Through many things, I have held onto this verse. You have to actually WALK through the fire, you have to keep moving, and sometimes once we get through it, it isn't always the outcome we expected. We have to trust in the One who has redeemed us. We are His.
