He gives and takes away.

".... the LORD gave, and

the LORD hath

taken away; blessed be

the name of the LORD"

(Job 1:21b)

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There are lots of good things about living in a small town. One of them is that when something happens in the small town, it doesn't take long before everyone knows about it. That is a wonderful thing when someone has a need. When someone is hurting and needs comfort. When there is an illness and somebody needs prayer.

Our small town is reeling tonight with the loss of precious baby. Just 2 days ago, a young couple that I know were on their way home from the family's deer camp with their boys, ages 16 months and 4 months. The 4 month old baby was a little fussy and had a runny nose and when they got home they put him in the bed for a nap. His mother checked on him a little while later and he was purple and struggling to breathe. They rushed him to the hospital and after a very hard few hours there (he coded several times), he was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. The diagnosis? Swine flu and possible meningitis.

He was experiencing swelling of his little brain and he was on life support. The doctors did not give the family much hope. The EEG was showing little or no brain activity. The family still clung to the hope that we have in our Lord. Sometime this afternoon, the little baby suffered a stroke. The doctors determined that there was no brain activity at all and sometime around 6 PM, that precious baby was swept into the arms of Jesus.

Tonight, this young couple - ages 22 and 23 - had to travel back home without their newest little baby. Their family of 4 is suddenly back to a family of 3. They had to make their way back to their home to begin a new chapter of their life that they never imagined would be written. It is tragic. It has rocked the lives of my daughters, as they knew this couple and can't even begin to comprehend what they are going through. As young mothers themselves, it is a nightmare for them to realize how quickly little baby Kannon got sick and died.

I ask that you please pray for this family. Pray that God's divine purpose prevails in this situation. Pray that the family will turn to God and that He will be revealed to them in a powerful way. Pray comfort and peace upon them.

If that wasn't enough, we found out that another young couple that my daughters and their husbands are friends with, are in the hospital with their 2 month old daughter. She has meningitis as well. The dad said that the doctors said they caught it early and she will be in the hospital for 10 days, but that she will be okay. Please pray for her as well. The little girls name is Emery.

For something like this to happen in such a small town is scary. We're talking real small. Like 2500 people small... Please lift up these families to our Lord.

Our only hope is in God. He is the one who gives life and He is the only one who has the power to take it away. Even when we can't see His purpose, we know that He has one. And we trust that it is all for the glory of Him. Our hope is in Him.