our end. His beginning.

Friends-

For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. He asked life from You, and You gave it to him--” Psalm 21:3-4

Life. That beautiful word holds more than Becca’s soul and spirit in it. Right now, it’s holding Dustin, two little Becca’s, immediate family (us), church body, friends, and those of you who are reading this entry. Becca’s life has weaved us all together by the unique relationship that each one of us have with her. Thank-you, Becca. Thank-you, God.

Before I attempt to answer some questions, I need to let everyone know, just in case there is any question, that I am not a blogger. You, who are faithful to this blog, are not the least bit surprised by this confession, seeing how long that is has been since my previous entry was posted. That said, I apologize for the silence that I created by not writing. This blog has been a precious part of Becca’s life over this season, and I am honored to voice a few words on it.

As I look at my last post, I realize that it was spontaneously put out there and never followed up on. I apologize for that and to catch you up during those three days we chose to not look just by sight, but with Faith, and with our Father's eyes at Becca's situation. We have been deeply encouraged by His words spoken through specific verses He showed different ones of us and many of you. We were also able to spend some time as a family in prayer and worship that left us with a deep peace and rest and knowing that He is GOOD. That might sound trite, but we feel that reality surrounding us daily.You presence during those 3 days of fasting was appreciated. Thank you all.

How is Becca....

Becca is not doing well in a physical sense. Her body is growing weaker and more frail. The past few days she’s only been able to get a few bites down, and is sipping on fluids. She has been on hospice for a week, and they have provided some helpful tools so that it’s easier for her to get in and out of bed. Time spent with Becca is precious. Bringing up names of people dear to her heart, ALWAYS makes her smile. always. Today her cravings were a lemonade icy, or a rasberry milkshake. Although her strict diet at the moment allows for neither of these ):.

It’s hard to know what to write. Looking through our physical eyes, I see a perfect opportunity for a miracle. God always delights to work in unimaginable ways for His glory and so that is how we feel led to pray.I was encouraged the other day by Streams in the Desert, it reads,“is the Lord being quiet with you? Nevertheless, He is attentive and still sees everything. He has His finger on your pulse and is extremely sensitive to even the slightest change. And He will come to save you when the perfect moment has arrived.”

Tonight, as we gathered around Becca as family for prayer, I got a tingle of excitement in my core. 2 Chron. 20:17,22 was being unveiled before my eyes. We, as humans, have come to an end of ideas, procedures, and plans. That’s where my tingle came in. As I thought that, another Voice whispered through, “Yes. That’s where I am.” That’s what He desires in every situation. Or as Jennifer Miller put it, unless He shows up, we’re dust, that the power may be of God and not of us (2 Corinthians 4:7). We can’t DO anything except believe and trust our great God for miracles that only He can do. “Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you” (2 Chronicles 20:17).

He IS at the end.

As we come more and more into that position of standing still, we desire to extend the strategy that He’s placed on our hearts to you as well. The past week as a family, we’ve gotten into the habit of gathering around Becca’s bed and praying before we end the day. Since Karis and Gabi go to bed earlier, we’ve decided to roughly put the time at 7 p.m.Physically you do not have to join us, but if we could all corporately set our eyes on Him at that time, I feel His pleasure in that.
-7p.m each night (until further notice) breathe a prayer and lift your eyes to Him.

Also, my parent’s want to open up the house every Monday night for a worship and prayer evening. Bring yourself, a prayer, song, note, poem, etc.
Time: 7 p.m. (6:45)
Place: Swanson’s house (440 NW 126th Ave, Slater, IA 50244.)
When: Every Monday evening until posted otherwise.

Lately, I have been challenged by the testimony, faith, and hope of David in 1 Samuel 12: 16-23. Contrary to even God’s word about the death of his son, he hoped. He knew that God is capable of ANYTHING. Even changing His mind.

Where there’s breath there’s life. Where there’s life there’s hope. Where there’s hope, there’s God.

He is always there at our end. It’s His beginning.


for His glory,

Rachel