Weak and Loved

"This story is not an attempt to answer complicated questions of human suffering.  Rather, it is a demonstration of God's faithfulness toward one sick child and her imperfect mother: both weak, but both loved.  Aggie had a brain tumor that disrupted her young life; her mother's sin and selfishness disrupted her best attempts to care for her.  Written from the perspective of a mother who suffers with her child, Weak and Loved allows readers to experience the struggles of faith and encouragement of God.  Readers will enter the difficult, earthy, and sometimes humorous world of a sick child, and be pleased to find the beauty of God's love in Christ even there."

I finished reading Weak and Loved by Emily Cook this past week.  I have to admit that I did tear up a couple times, but more often I laughed out loud.  I've never written a book review before, but I've decided to share with you a few excerpts that I found particularly good.

I, personally, have always struggled with the concept of baptising babies.  Baptism is a choice, right?!  So how does a baby choose to accept Christ?  Emily's account of the baptism of her newborn son, Eldon, was beautiful:

"Soon it was Eldon's time to receive God's gifts in Baptism.  His family's predictable love having already welcomed him into the world, his church family and Heavenly Father did likewise.  His gracious Father did not wait until His child was old enough to make up his mind about Him.  He created, He sustained, and He immediately welcomed His Eldon into the family.  Helpless babies, coming to Him with nothing but need, are welcomed.  Children who cannot even walk, much less decide they need God, are carried to Him, and loved into the family by the God that made them."

"In Baptism, the baby becomes no longer just 'another baby' to the community.  God Himself is present, and His entire church gathers to welcome and love this particular baby into God's family.  This newborn Child of God, Eldon, is the gift God has given to all of us.  We shared with him God's promises, and we remember that we have been made members of Christ by grace just as this child has."

"As Eldon received promises of Life in Christ added to the gracious gift of life and health, my heart also remembered those promises given to the child from whom life was slipping away.  In life, in death, there is only One Solid Thing: God's love for us in Christ."

After stumbling upon John 9:1-3, Emily had these thoughts:

"It was a comfort to know that suffering did not necessarily mean that God was unhappy with us about something we did.  It was also a bit unsettling.  If we had been doing something wrong, there might be hope that we could figure out what it was and fix it, and everything would be okay again.  If the reason for this trial had nothing to do with us but rather with some uknown plan of God, well, that is pretty frightening.  I actually was quite comfortable imagining that I had control over where our life was headed, over what kind of family we would be.  It was hard to let go of that illusion."

I've also previously blogged about an excerpt from Weak and Loved about calling out to God and turning to Him.  Overall, this book left me with a newfound patience with my children...they are here and healthy today and that can change in the blink of an eye.  "My children are not my own...and they are safe in God's hands even when they are not in mine."

In celebration of three years of seizure-freedom for Aggie Cook, Weak and Loved: A Mother-Daughter Love Story by Emily Cook will be FREE (the digital version) on Amazon, July 15-19.  Get yours today HERE!

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