I love God. And not for what He's done for me, but for who He is. The maker of the heavens & the earth, truly cares about me - How can you not love God when we can see His miracles around us each day? I recently punctured two tires a couple of weeks ago, on my way to work out, and then go visit a single dad I've been reaching out to, up in Bristol. Yeah, very inconvenient and costly ($300!!) but that happened for a reason. I truly believe that God was protecting me from something bigger that day. That kind of protection, and the fact that my heart "sees" it that way, how can you not praise God? He has "healed" me from the hurt & bitterness that I've held onto though most of my life. "Healed" is a perfect word becaise, in the past, I would've been extremely upset and angry-ish at God.

But I wonder some times when I pray for Darren Waterhouse, Jean Thomas & the teen from Pioneer Valley, Connor, my mom who fought cancer, to even a close friend who was recently diagnosed with a heart condition. I know that God is in control, but why does He allow such physical ailments, especially to the people who love & follow Him?

I am a firm believer in prayer, and it's power. God answers prayers. We worship a God who is Master over the impossible, so why isn't prayer enough when loved ones are strickened with medical issues?

God heals, but maybe physical healing isn't the path that God chooses at times. This isn't easy to write, but maybe sometimes, His perfect plan is to allow us to suffer and live with illness & hardship. The reason has to be, because He can teach us things through these moments that we would never be able to learn without.

Paul, quite possibly the greatest disciple, had vision problems that God never cured. Job suffered because God had a bigger purpose for him than just mere comfort. Theses men suffered, and not for a lack of faith.

Some of the greatest advancements in ourselves comes because of hardship. God changes us, molds us, strengthens us and builds us through trials. But one of the greatest things we get though this is, we experience God's comfort during those dark hours.

We must realize that it's just not God's plan to heal or fix our problem quickly. But that's ok because we know that He still loves us. And still has a plan for us. And he has a profound purpose for that pain that can end up blessing us beyond anything we could ever imagine.

God chooses to heal, but sometimes He teaches us more, and draws us closer when we walk through suffering. But during those times, we must remember to run towards God, and not away from Him during the hardships.