Widened Prayers

Thinking of Marcus' future is like looking into a telescope to find that what you've been wanting to admire from far away has been blocked by thick clouds.  Mike and I always wonder...will he be living with us the rest of his life?  Will he have a job?  Will we outlive him?  Question mark after fuzzy question mark.

A few weeks ago, on our drive to church one Sunday, we discussed perhaps praying for his future wife.  Having heard of a couple who was praying for the future spouse of their daughter who has Spina Bifida, I was challenged to do the same for Marcus.  I brought up the subject to Mike and we decided that yes, we ought to pray for Marcus' future in a way that doesn't leave out anything the Lord could do in his life.  The arm of the Lord is never too short, so we want to pray for anything and everything within His reach.

I mean, seriously though.  How can one NOT fall in love with this guy?  I have to keep this boy from charming every lady he meets, for goodness sake!



Providentially, Desiring God ministries came out with this video recently.  I watched it with Audrey on my lap yesterday and I couldn't stop crying.



Could my prayers for Marcus encompass this kind of love?  A love that so beautifully portrays God's love for us through His Son?  In her blog, Larissa writes,

...the weight of what has happened today through this video and what will continue to happen pummels me. it pummels me because what god is accomplishing through our afflictions is happening at the same time that we are sinning. What a great divide that crosses. What wretched sinners Ian and I are, and yet somehow, He uses us to magnify himself. Our sin does not prevent god's glory on display.

Of Ian's role as a husband to Larissa, their brother writes,

As a husband, I want to be strong for my wife....But how can Ian, a crippled man who’s been stripped of many physical and mental capabilities, be this type of man for his wife?

...the best way a husband can serve his wife is by caring for her spiritual condition and seeking her sanctification. This is the most obvious way Ian serves Larissa, and he does it well.

Ian’s joyfulness and complete reliance on God seem to bring encouragement to Larissa, not to mention his quickness to bring God back to the center of things. Ian portrays faith like it should be portrayed: as common sense. God is good and that’s the truth, even to a man in Ian’s condition.

My prayers for Marcus have widened.  Yes, I will continue to pray for a potential wife for him but now, I'm challenged to pray that our son, who cannot walk on his own, who has to put forth so much effort to finish a sentence, who feels and processes this world differently, who will lose his vision one day, will have Ian's faith and influence on others.

As a baby, soon after Marcus' diagnosis, I prayed with him every night, baptizing him with my tears, that God would make our son a leader.  That Marcus would be so convinced of God's love and grace, that he would show it to others and lead them to greater faith and love and good works.  For some reason, I lost touch with those fiery prayers after a while.  But after reading about Ian, I'm excited to reignite these pleas to the Lord.

I took a daydreaming peek into the future today, prayerfully hoping that as Mike and I grow older, we would give over Marcus' physical care over to Audrey and Derek.  But, Lord-willing, as we prepare to leave this earth, that we would leave Marcus to care for his siblings' souls.  It is the longing of our hearts, that our Savior would prove Himself all-sufficient and the source of every spiritual blessing so that Marcus' heart would overflow even if his body is weak, that his faith would remain firm even if his legs give out, that his heart would see Christ clearly even if his eyes grow dim.

My heart is aflutter, excited at what the future holds for my son.