(Photo borrowed from Life with the Ferrells)
For the past several weeks, many of the ladies on my online messageboard and I have been following with heavy hearts the story of one family’s struggles with their new baby.  Little Nathan has had breathing issues since birth and was not showing the muscle tone development the pediatrician hoped to see.  After weeks of searching for an answer, he was given a preliminary diagnosis of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).  Everything pointed to this diagnosis, and there seemed to be very little doubt in the doctor’s mind.

His mother, Amber, discovered at home on the internet that this is a devastating progressive illness that is fatal, and then began the weeks-long wait for the genetic tests to confirm the doctor’s suspicions.

Meanwhile, she and her family, and many of her online friends prayed, and prayed hard.   Miraculously, during this time, Nate’s development began to improve in areas in which he had previously begun to regress.

This morning, I woke up to this incredible news: Nathan does not have SMA!  Please read her post about it so that you can shed tears of joy with her as I did.  Praise the Lord for His incredible mercy on this family!  Please also pray for baby Nate and his family as they continue to seek a diagnosis for him.

God does not always answer our prayers with a “Yes”.  When it is “No” or “Wait”, we can trust without exception that He is still acting for our best.  But when He does give a resounding “Yes!” to the cries of His people, how it makes our hearts swell with joy!

Psalm 40:1

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.