Monday, November 5, 2007

Ross

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endurethThine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The above is such a familiar song to the church, but is it familiar to you?
Have you ever thought and pondered the faithfulness of God on and in your life.
Has he been faithful? Has he ever let you down?

A couple weeks ago, I was singing at a church when before the service I noticed a woman and her husband feeding their 27 year old retarded Son. I later found out that his name was Ross, and when he was 9 months old a babysitter shook him so bad that he became totally mentally retarded. He now has the mind of a 9 month old, can't see, and can't communicate in any way and sits in a chair flopping his arms and head back and forth all day. I was amazed at the patience and compassion these two individuals had on their Son. Their Son would never be able to tell them Thank you, or I love You. He would never be able to help his dad work on a project in the garage, or help his mom in the kitchen. Ross would be completely dependent on the love and care of his parents the rest of his life. The service was about to begin, but I didn’t care, I wanted to know more about this couple and how they deal with having a 27 year old retarded Son. I pulled up a chair, and leaned in close. I didn't want to miss a thing. As we were talking I noticed Ross' dad caressing his hand back and forth. I noticed Ross' mom wipe the food off his face with such gentleness and care. These people really loved Ross. Even though Ross would never reciprocate any token of appreciation it didn't matter. Ross was their Son. The service began and I was about to sing... but I hesitated. I planned on singing "Great is thy Faithfulness". How could I sing this song in the presence of such people? Has God really been faithful to Ross? Has God really been faithful to Ross' parents? I wouldn’t go up and sing. I couldn’t. I told Ross' mom I had planned on singing "Great is they Faithfulness" but that I couldn’t sing it without asking her a question. She said, "Sure, what is your question." I hesitantly replied, "Has God... been faithful?"

I wasn't prepared for what I heard.

As she continued to feed her Son, her eyes welled up as if I had just his a soft spot. She replied, "Oh Yes, Jonathan, God has been so faithful to us." God gave us Ross. God gave Ross us. He is our Son, and we are Ross' parents. We love Ross. Yes times have been tough, but we want you to go up there and sing that song. Don't worry about us, God takes care of us. More than you know. Jonathan, God is faithful."

While singing, I couldn't get Ross out of my head. "Great is thy faithfulness, Lord God my Father; their is no shadow of turning with Thee." (Ross' dad reminded me of this line. Ross' dad has had every opportunity in the world to give up on his Son. But he doesn't. He lifts him in and out of bed every day of his life, and will until the die that he or Ross dies. Ross' Father ain't going anywhere, and neither is mine). "Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be." (Ross' parents have never wavered in their commitment to their Son. They have shown unconditional Love. Love without reward. Love without anything in return. Love that faileth not. Love that lasts forever.)

So... I conclude this blog with tears in my eyes, humbled that somtimes it takes a Ross in my life to remind me of the marvelous grace, and unfailing love of my never changing, unconditionally loving constant God. Great is His Faithfulness toward me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow jonathan........thank you for reminding me of God's faithful towards me in my life.
What a wonderful God!

Melissa-this-is-real said...

WOW....J....Thats really good and made me think about some stuff...Thanks for being you!
~*Melissa*~

Dominic said...

Indeed. Let me share my story a little with you. I am basically the poorest person in Colonial Woods... I am living under the poverty level. I have people who are close to me as well as my dad. Who have either died or have left. I have been forsaken by both sides of my family. Have been raised in a hellish childhood with an extremely legalistic parent. Everyone it seems stays away from me. Basically there is nothing really that others have been hurt or have experienced that I have not. Joining up with Colonial Woods has given me more faith in people. People fail me and stab me in the back oh so much and so many times. So Jonathan, when I say people have it good and have absolutely no excuse to be complaining about their lives when really they don’t have it bad, you now know where I am coming from. But you know through all of that God is faithful. Through all of the crap and hatefulness of others vented on me God has used that to improve quality of life in me. If it were not for all of the crap in my life, I would not be able to love, not to be able to suffer with others, to be able to understand the pain of others, to truly live. So I am thankful for them, I am thankful for the faithfulness of God. GOD IS FAITHFULL. So many times I have failed Him and He is faithful and I am not. He has to be God to be able to be faithful. Only God could be faithful to us.

Anonymous said...

THANKS FOR REMINDING ME THE FAITHFULNESS OF OUR GOD.HOW FAITHFUL IS HE IN WINTER,SUMMER NOON TIME AND MIDNIGHT;HE IS NOT A DISADPPIONTMENT,HE IS AS FAITHFUL AS THE WORD FAITHFUL;LETS CONTINUE TO COUNT ON HIM-OUR CHURCH IS FLOODED AND EVERY THING DESTROYED BY FLOOD IN DOUALA CAMEROON THIS IS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.HOWEVER GOD IS STILL FAITHFUL HE WILL PERFECT THAT WHICH HE HAS BEGAN IN OUR LIVES.THANKS VERY MUCH AM SINGING THIS SONG THE WHOLE OF TODAY.AM BLESS.