The last few days in blogland have been days of surprise, shock and disbelief. A blog of a young pregnant woman whose unborn baby had been given a terminal diagnosis has been one of interest that I and a couple of friends (along with thousands of others across the nation and world) have been following over the course of the last several weeks. After pouring prayers out for this young family, waiting anxiously for updates and finally knowing of the birth, the blog world was shocked to find it had all been a hoax. Many people who had been reading the blog were furious. Angry that they had bought into this story and had put their time, effort, prayers, and even money into something that was merely a work of fiction by a very disturbed person. I was saddened that someone could make up such a horrific story for any reason. But from the ashes, God will make beauty. As the truth unfolded, three of this young woman's biggest supporters spoke out on how they too were duped. You can read their statements here. It was with class and dignity like few others could muster that these three women sought to stop the rumors, heal the hurt and remind all of us that God is still God. I am reminded that God can take anything, and I do mean anything, and work it to his good. From this fictious story, came a blog that allowed people who were complete strangers to pray for one another. Prayers of support and love that would have otherwise gone unspoken. It allowed a world full of people to pray for a woman who desperately needed prayer, even if the prayers were sent up with false information. In the end, does it really matter that we all prayed for the "wrong" thing? I don't think so. We took time out of our day to talk to God (is that ever wrong??) and He heard our prayers that were sincere. He ultimately knows what is going on with each of us. He knew this young woman, too. Having followed her story made me more thankful that my own pregnancy was going so well. I would read her blog and stop just to praise God that I have four healthy children, even on days when they were ALL misbehaving. How many times do we stop to thank God for our children when the misbehave??? I am saddened that one woman duped so many people. However, I will say I am more than glad to have been duped if it meant I spent more time on my knees, crying out to God, praising Him the way I should. God works good in our lives every day from tragedy. He gives us what we need to go on and people are resoundingly resilient to life's hardships. If you don't believe me, check this out.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
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