God's Will. God's Way. In God's Time.
Yesterday I decided that I would post pictures from Kiawah every day this week. I had every intention of picking my favorites from each day and posting them in order, but today my timing had to change a little.
On our last morning Megan decided she wanted to get up early and watch the sunrise on the beach. I felt like I should go along even though the thought of getting up at the crack of dawn on my last day of vacation was definitely less than appealing to me. One of the main reasons I decided to go was that I wanted to be awake enough to pray for our friend Sydney, a fourteen year old girl in our youth group.
At 7:30 that morning Sydney had her fourth brain surgery to remove a mass that was located in the center of her brain. There were many complications that could result from this surgery, including total blindness (a previous surgery had already left her blind in one eye), seizures, strokes, personality changes, and others I can't remember. In spite of all this, Syd had the most amazing outlook and faith. She and her family continued to praise God and believe in his healing power.
Sydney got through her surgery last Friday and the doctors were confident that the entire mass was successfully removed. Over the weekend she did not wake up as quickly as the medical professionals had hoped and went through other tests. On Sunday she woke up enough to tell her mom she loved her.
This morning her mom, Michelle, posted this on Facebook: "SYDNEY IS DANCING WITH JESUS!! She had a stroke this morning in her brain stem. She is considered brain dead. They are doing protocol testing right now. *BELIEVE*"
While sitting on the beach last Friday morning we prayed for Sydney and her family. Her family's motto is *BELIEVE* God's Will. God's Way. In God's Time. I can't believe that Sydney is no longer here with us. I knew death was a possibility, but I never expected it to be a real possibility. Although I don't understand why things have to happen the way they do, I am in awe of a God who understands it all and will even put up with us questioning him as we deal with life.
We love you, Sydney, and are so thankful to be your friends. The faith you demonstrated, the testimony you shared and the legacy you have left are incredible and we are so proud of you. Your friends' lives will never be the same and your loud and crazy spirit will most definitely be missed!
4 comments:
What a wonderful healing Sydney got! Even though we didn't expect this particular one, it is comforting to know that today she sees-more clearly than the rest of us. Praise God for Sydney and her family. We love you all!!!!
What a beautiful post. Continued prayers for Sydney's family for peace and healing.
Erin: I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend Sydney. The story is heart breaking, but the pictures and the *Believe* are uplifting. No doubt she is so happy right now; I'm just sorry so many are left hurting. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Sydney's family. God bless! Love you and miss you!!!
Your post made me cry. As a mother, I find myself often complaining about how tired my kids make me or wondering why they can't sleep through the night, and so forth. Today, I am just thankful they are with me. What a terrible loss? But, just to know how strong she was should give all of us hope. God does have a plan, even when we can't see it. Prayers to all of Sydneys family and friends in their time of loss and healing.
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