Day 20: Bill Cunliffe
Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.
There was a week in November in which I almost lost two of my nieces. Libby, in Texas, aged 12, and newborn Esther in England.
We started the week anticipating the birth of Esther. Scans during pregnancy had shown that she had a malformed heart, but the heart had subsequently looked to have been developing well. Suddenly, towards the end of that week, Libby, across the Atlantic, was rushed to the hospital for life-saving emergency surgery due to a twisted bowel.
Our family had barely started to process Libby's trauma when Esther was finally born and we learned that her heart condition was much worse than had been expected. This meant that she had to have life-saving open heart surgery at only six days old! Trauma on trauma! Emergency surgery on emergency surgery!
Our extended family turned to prayer for these two precious girls, joined by networks of people, quite literally around the world. We prayed for safety, healing, strength, and comfort. We praise God that both Libby and Esther came through their surgeries and have recovered well, and as I type this, Libby is visiting baby Esther in England. What a turnaround!
That is not to say that all is completely well. Libby has spina bifida, and has always had many health challenges. The nature of Esther's heart condition is that, barring a miracle, her life expectancy and quality of life will be reduced, we just do not know by how much. Even though there have been no miraculous healings (yet!), we feel privileged to have seen how God's guiding hand was there to comfort and remind us of His Great Orchestration. Here are two fun examples:
•The doctor that delivered baby Esther was called Dr. ThankGod. That is not a name you typically come across in England, let alone English hospitals, and it was of timely comfort to Joey, Esther's mom.
•My family in England had been praying that Libby's family in Texas would make some connections to the doctors performing the surgeries. They made not one, not two, but three connections with doctors to our hometown of Exeter, 5,000 miles away. Two of the doctors had spent years working at the hospital a mile from our house. Exeter is not a city that often comes up in conversation here in the US!
We continue to Thank God for the precious gift of life, and for reminding us, at a very traumatic time, that He continually orchestrates and guides our lives.
Prayer:
Thank you, LORD, that each of our circumstances is known to You, and that Your ever-present hand is there to guide us and comfort us. Give us the faith to pray for the miraculous, the humility to trust in Your purposes and timing, and the eyes to see Your provision. May we continue to delight in Your orchestrations!
There was a week in November in which I almost lost two of my nieces. Libby, in Texas, aged 12, and newborn Esther in England.
We started the week anticipating the birth of Esther. Scans during pregnancy had shown that she had a malformed heart, but the heart had subsequently looked to have been developing well. Suddenly, towards the end of that week, Libby, across the Atlantic, was rushed to the hospital for life-saving emergency surgery due to a twisted bowel.
Our family had barely started to process Libby's trauma when Esther was finally born and we learned that her heart condition was much worse than had been expected. This meant that she had to have life-saving open heart surgery at only six days old! Trauma on trauma! Emergency surgery on emergency surgery!
Our extended family turned to prayer for these two precious girls, joined by networks of people, quite literally around the world. We prayed for safety, healing, strength, and comfort. We praise God that both Libby and Esther came through their surgeries and have recovered well, and as I type this, Libby is visiting baby Esther in England. What a turnaround!
That is not to say that all is completely well. Libby has spina bifida, and has always had many health challenges. The nature of Esther's heart condition is that, barring a miracle, her life expectancy and quality of life will be reduced, we just do not know by how much. Even though there have been no miraculous healings (yet!), we feel privileged to have seen how God's guiding hand was there to comfort and remind us of His Great Orchestration. Here are two fun examples:
•The doctor that delivered baby Esther was called Dr. ThankGod. That is not a name you typically come across in England, let alone English hospitals, and it was of timely comfort to Joey, Esther's mom.
•My family in England had been praying that Libby's family in Texas would make some connections to the doctors performing the surgeries. They made not one, not two, but three connections with doctors to our hometown of Exeter, 5,000 miles away. Two of the doctors had spent years working at the hospital a mile from our house. Exeter is not a city that often comes up in conversation here in the US!
We continue to Thank God for the precious gift of life, and for reminding us, at a very traumatic time, that He continually orchestrates and guides our lives.
Prayer:
Thank you, LORD, that each of our circumstances is known to You, and that Your ever-present hand is there to guide us and comfort us. Give us the faith to pray for the miraculous, the humility to trust in Your purposes and timing, and the eyes to see Your provision. May we continue to delight in Your orchestrations!
Posted in Boast in the Lord 2026
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