A young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered. And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in." When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined.

We know that there are so many other people who have faced much worse tragedies than we are facing right now. We have received so many e-mails where this is true. But, all of these that were sent to Elizabeth have one thing in common - God's almighty healing power!!

We continue to see His healing being done in Elizabeth. The pins are now out of her hands and we still have therapy every day. Her right hand - the one that had the pins - needs much more intense therapy right now! Because the pins were left in for a month, her fingers are not bending at all. We've had them x-rayed and have found out that one of the fingers has no more cartlige - so, we will find out Monday what needs to be done. I appreciate so much the prayers for my Elizabeth - your words of encouragement and love mean so much to her and to me. Of course, we still have our bad days - days where she wants to give up trying so hard - but, through our prayers to our Lord, she keeps going, and her bad days are coming around less frequently!!!

There is a song that Jeff and Sheri Easter have on one of their CD's - "Praise His Name" We're hoping that Elizabeth will get enough courage to sing it one day in our church.

When you're up against a wall, and your mountain seems so tall
And you realize life's not always fair.
You can runaway and hide, let the old man decide
Or you can change your circumstances with a prayer

When everything falls apart - praise His name
When you have a broken heart - raise your hands and say
Lord You're all I need, You're everything to me, and He'll take the pain away
When it seems you're all alone, praise His name
When you feel you can't go on, just raise your hands and say
Greater is He that is within me, and you can praise the hurt away
If you'll just praise His name

I know you can overcome by the blood of the Lamb
By the work of your testimony
You'll see the darkness go as your faith begins to grow
You're not alone, so how can you be lonely

We know that by praising our Lord's name that the pain can go away. I still hear her prayers at night to our Lord. She's beginning to worry about about her hands - whether or not she will regain full use of them. But you and I know that through our prayers to our almighty God - that my Elizabeth will gain full use of her hands and she will be "normal" again!!

She's is so amazing to me. It's obvious that her strength and courage comes from God. When we go in stores or other places - people often ask her all about her situation. I asked her if this bothered her - but she told me that she would rather people ask her questions than just look at her and not saying a word. Just the other day we were somewhere and man was asking her all about what happened to her - and she told him all about it - When he was leaving, he patted her on the shoulder and told her that he was praying for her and hoped that she would be better. She told me that this was the sweetest thing - that people she doesn't even know have words of encouragement for her. Once again - our Lord speaks to us through others.

Through this we have made so many friends in Christ!! One in particular is a young man named Chris Raber. He always sends my Lizzie something every week - This is one of things that was sent to her by him:

I am God.
Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember that I do not need your help.

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.
Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box.
It will be addressed in My time, not yours.
Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold on to it.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic; Don't despair.
There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work;
Think of the man who has been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad;
Think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend;
Think of the woman In dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance;
Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror;
Think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose?
Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities;
Remember, things could be worse. You could be them!!!!

This helps remind us that even though we think our problems are so much than we can handle - we are reminded that things could be much worse. I thank God everyday that my Elizabeth is doing so much better and that I still have her with us to love and hold to comfort her at night. Please continue to pray for her. I know that we have still a long road ahead of us. But, with our Lord's help - it's getting so much easier and shorter!!!!

We love you and thank you all,
Marian Riles (Phil. 4:13)