God is in Control

By Ruth Salgado

After two years and eight months of praying, God gave Daniel Joshua to Pastor Nards and me on May 8, 2007. What a joy!

But after two weeks we learned that the much-awaited child was sick and needed special medical attention. At first I was shocked. I couldn’t say a word when the doctor explained to us the results of his laboratory exams and his condition. I was totally unprepared for the situation. Pastor and I both cried seeking the Lord’s guidance so that He would not allow the devil to penetrate our hearts and use the situation to discourage us and make us angry with God. As I remember, Pastor Jed said through text that the easiest way to accept the situation is to thank God for what He has allowed. It was hard but it really worked. We began searching our hearts for sin and neglect. I had been very careful during my pregnancy. I even took a leave from work for eleven months just so I could free myself from stress and a strenuous job. But still it happened.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8)

Since then we visited the hospital every two weeks to monitor Daniel’s health. One doctor said that we always need to be prepared because with his condition he might not live long. Oh! It was like a dagger that struck my heart. As months went by, we did see what was expected of him. Because he has a very small fontanel, his brain was not able to grow just like the normal child. This caused his seizures. He also has positioning which would last for almost two hours per episode.

On his fifth month his seizures attacked very often and his doctor advised that he be confined. One of our brethren referred us to the National Children’s Hospital (NCH), a public hospital for children. On October 17, 2007, we went there for check up and the following day we returned for Daniel’s confinement. During our 27-day-stay in the hospital, we saw how the Lord worked in us, how he moved people to be of help, and how He poured out His daily provisions. Cornerstone was our shelter then. We slept, ate, and did our laundry in the church. Pastor Jed and Ate Eden so generously and lovingly accommodated us. We do appreciate the Cornerstone family who offered prayers and help in whatever form.

If I felt the pain, how much more did Daniel. In his frail body, he experienced different kinds of laboratory exams that needed blood extraction. How many needles were pierced through his body because the dextrose was detached very often! He was fed through Oral Gastric Tube (OGT). The oxygen tank was our companion everyday. He took three high dose drugs to control his seizures, but sometimes these drugs were of no effect to him. In such situation we could only depend on God for help. Day and night we cried unto the Lord so that He would strengthen us. It was a daily battle. We prayed to God not to stop the storm we were in but to make us able to walk through it faithfully.

One week before our discharge from the hospital, we submitted my Philhealth so as to lessen our bills. But it was not honored due to the three months gap during my maternity leave. I was alarmed but Pastor Nards comforted me and told me that God is in control. True enough, the day before our discharge Pastor submitted his Philhealth and when the bill arrived we only had to pay P10.00! What a great God! The doctor advised us to buy an oxygen tank before going home. The brand new costs P4,600.00 at Bambang, Manila. That same day my sister called us up and told us that their office was selling an oxygen tank. When Pastor went there he got it for only P2,500.00!

We learned so many principles in that experience. God never made a mistake in bringing Daniel into this world. In fact, He used Daniel to show us our weaknesses so that we would trust in His strength. As a couple, it brought us closer together. We learned to appreciate and be thankful for the little improvements we saw in Daniel. God tested our faith and obedience through trials to help us grow.

The Lord is still pruning us now, ridding us of our rough edges so that we can be more effective in the ministry. It is hard, really hard because God used not hammer to mold us but a mallet. If it is the Lord’s will for our life, we submit to it. May He be glorified…

But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10) Amen!