Inspire, Summer 2001

Alumni Profile: Scott'96 and Joy Wickholm Bennett'98 A Rushing River of Blessings Scott '96 and Joy Wickholm Bennett'98share their story of how God brought blessings and peace through an agonizing situation with their precious newborn. A sIdng"Where is God?" seems to be our automatic response to difficult situations. But how many of us wonder where He is when we are comfortable? James 1:2-4 tells us that God uses earthly trials as a purifying fire to grow our faith and to glorify Himself,but somehow the necessity of trials still escapes us. We don't understand that God is most active in our lives when He tests us. God's testing is a confirmation ofour position as His children(Hebrews 12:6-7). Having not been tested to any great degree as children, Joy and I began to realize early in our marriage that someday He would send a purifying trial, like a locomotive,around the bend of our lives. In July 1999, we learned we were pregnant. After an uneventful pregnancy and delivery, our first daughter,Elli Renee, arrived on February 26,2000. Hours after her birth, the nurses told us she had a heart murmur.However,they minimized our concerns and assured us that many children outgrow heart murmurs. We took Elli to a doctor on February 29 because she looked a little yellow. She had lost more than one pound and had jaundice in addition to the heart murmur.The doctor was concerned and sent us straight to Children's Hospital. After several hours of tests, two cardiologists explained that Elli's heart had five major defects, and at that time they thought she would need a heart transplant. We had to leave Elli in the newborn ICU that night. The next morning,Elli's heart stopped beating. After about 20 minutes ofCPR,it finally started again. But the lack ofoxygen had damaged her brain and other major organs. Doctors said that even though she was alive, she now had probable brain damage in addition to severe heart disease. We learned later that no one had expected her to survive the day. Many would declare this situation "a parent's worst nightmare," but to us it has been God's way of bringing real practicality to all we have heard since we first declared faith in Him many years ago. And we were wrong—God's testing doesn't come like a rumbling, earth-shaking train. It's more like 18 Summer 2001 a rushing river of blessings and peace that picks us up and carries us along,though sometimes very rapidly. Don't get the wrong impression. This news slammed us flat on our backs. We were anything but composed,especially after seeing Elli barely clinging to life in the ICU. However,in the midst of this, God set us back on our feet and began to change our hearts and our perspective. Even as we cried,"We want our baby," we began to realize that she wasn't ours at all. Elli was God's little girl, and He showed us that we were merely stewards entrusted with her care. ... God uses earthly trials as a puriftingfire to grow ourfaith and to glorift Himself... Elli surprised everyone.She began to recover, growing strong enough to undergo 10 hours ofopen heart surgery on March 13. Elli's surgery was a beacon of God's peace to the entire hospital staff. In a seemingly hopeless situation (Elli was given a 20-30 percent chance of surviving the surgery), we were surrounded by the prayers ofhundreds of God's people all around the world, as well as a host offamily and friends whojoined us at the hospital. A nurse updated us every few hours,and by God's grace this woman's smile got bigger each time. While we leaned heavily on God and prepared for the worst, He had already chosen to sustain Elli's life. After seven weeks in the hospital, God allowed us to bring Elli home.She had no voice, required a feeding tube,and needed 25 daily doses of medication. She has come a long way since then— she is eating,cooing,and laughing,and is down to two medications a day!She had a second heart surgery last August and will need at least three more surgeries as she grows. We still don't know the full effects ofthe brain damage,but we are trusting God to continue to provide us the grace we need to clear each hurdle. We have learned that asking God "Why?"is completely out of place—after all, we deserve eternal punishment!Instead we look for those occasions in which God chooses to show us a glimpse of His plan,and we thank Him daily for giving us one more day with Elli. Although our tests are far from over, we trust God to provide enabling grace to learn and grow through them. To read all our "Elli updates," visit our Web site at vvww.concentric.net/-scottjoy/new.html.