Romans 8:37-39

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When I was in the hospital for Isaac's heart, I read through the "journey pages" on my food allergy support group. These are the pages where parents (ok, moms), write out their child's food allergy history. They are very useful because they are a place to see it all laid out, and get feedback from other parents who have had similar situations, but they can also be very therapeutic, as parents can offer each other support for current challenges related to food allergies or parenting in general.

One journey story stood out to me during that time. It was about a little girl ("Meg") a few years older than Isla with on-going abdominal issues, presumed to be caused by food allergies. Right before I was hospitalized, the family discovered that, in addition to food allergies, Meg had intestinal malrotation. I'd never heard of this before, but I read about her surgery and recovery as I lay in bed and tried not to think too much about Isaac. I also sent her mom cheery encoraging posts, and thought about how blessed we were not to be dealing with Meg's condition.

In one post, in the days leading up to her daughter's surgery, Meg's mom writes about having Romans 8:37-39 stuck in her head and then going to church and hearing it as part of the service. I looked up the verse and just started bawling. It might have been the first time I let myself cry about Isaac's heart and acknowledge all my fears.

The day we got Isaac's diagnosis, I messaged Meg's mom to tell her. She has been so supportive, answering my questions and giving me encouragement. Tonight I just re-read through her daughter's story, hoping to glean some insight or comfort or just distract myself. Once again the post with the verse jumped out at me. It is a lovely testament to the power of love and gives me peace during this challenging time.