Most of you have heard about our daughter Charlotte’s diagnosis of Batten’s disease. It is a terminal illness, and she happens to have the rarest type characterized by a very short life span of 5 or fewer years. This form shows symptoms as early as 10 months old. The doctors informed us that our boys are probably safe as they have not shown symptoms at the expected age, but we decided to test our little four-month-old daughter, Sophie.
We received her results back and learned that Sophie has Batten’s disease just like her sister.
We aren’t sure why God has planned this for both of our little girls, but we know He will use this for His glory. God has continued to grant us such great peace—and even joy—during these grievous trials. God grants extraordinary grace to His children going through extraordinary circumstances.
God says, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” Ecc 3:1. We will have time to grieve and time to rejoice. We grieve knowing our little girls’ lives are short, but we rejoice knowing that God is still in control. God doesn’t plan things by accident, and we take comfort in knowing that there is a purpose for every trial.
Ultimately, this too shall pass. We are only here on Earth for but a breath of time. As believers, we need only to run the race and lay up treasures in Heaven. Investing in God’s kingdom is our ultimate goal; everything on Earth will vanish away.
God is still in control. He has already conquered death. He is still on the throne.
God is always only good.