Jeremiah 1:5a – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart .” (NIV)

2 Corinthians 1:3 – Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. (HCSB)

I have a friend who has a sister suffering from the same rare blood disease that claimed their father’s life, and my friend called me this morning to give me an update.  I’m sitting here with my cup of coffee, she with her cup of tea, and we are talking to each other and to You, Lord.  Sometimes with medical issues too much knowledge is good, and having traveled this route before has given this family way too much knowledge of the potholes, the detours, and the dips in the road.  No matter what the doctors say or do, the family has flashbacks to all the things that could possibly happen.  As I listen and try to comfort my friend, I recall that scripture tells us “The Lord is a God who knows”.  I take great comfort in knowing that You know.  You know our fears, our hopes, our feelings as we go through the emotional roller coaster of dealing with illness.  You know our questions, even when we can’t put them into words.  You know our great joy when the test results are good, and our crushing disappointment when the results are not good.  You know that waiting for those test results is torture.  Jeremiah 1: 5 also comes to mind.  You knew all of us before You even formed us in the womb.  You knew my friend’s sister, and You knew her caregivers. This illness did not catch You by surprise.  She is in Your hands now and has been since before she was even born.  My friend was sharing with me how prayers had been answered – prayers about fevers, prayers about transfusions, and prayers about windows of time.  As my friend and I finished our conversation, I accidently knocked a book of scripture off of my desk.  The page that opened had one verse on it, II Corinthians 1:3 “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.”  Oh, Lord, thank You.  Thank You for taking care of us through the good times and the bad.  Thank You, Lord, for reminding us that You are the source of every mercy and comfort.