Saturday, December 20, 2003
Isaiah 12:6

Five years ago our son Giancarlo was born gravely ill. We discovered at his one week check up that Giancarlo's heart was on the right side of his chest and that it was malformed. As a result, his heart only had two chambers instead of four, his aorta was tiny and his only valve was leaky. It was indeed a miracle that he had not died at birth.

He was taken to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee and family and friends were asked to pray for him, as the following day he would have the first of three open-heart surgeries.

During the eleven hours of his surgery our faith was greatly tested. But time and time again we remembered that all we had was God, and that was all we needed. Giancarlo made it through that and the other two surgeries with flying colors. His doctors have told us that he is their poster child. They would like all the children with similar hearts as Giancarlo to have the outcome that he has had.

And for that outcome and many other things, we can truly say with Isaiah, "Shout aloud and sing for joy ... for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." Yes, great is the Holy One among us!

God knows what we need even before we ask Him for it. God provided beautifully for Mary, Joseph and Jesus. He provided a place for His son to be born in, provided peace and harmony for Mary and Joseph and through the gifts of the Wise Men, provided all they would need for their escape to Egypt. Great was the Holy One among them!

The day of Giancarlo's surgery my sister-in-law Naty, who works in Veteran's Hospital in Puerto Rico, told one of her doctor friends of Giancarlo's condition. His response was: "tell your brother and sister-in-law not to have him operated here. Tell them to take him to Children's Hospital in Wisconsin." See, he was under the impression that Giancarlo was in Puerto Rico, but three years before God had placed in our hearts that we move to Wisconsin.

Little did we know then that God was putting everything in its place so that this child could be at the right place and at the right time!

As we move closer to Christmas and the New Year, we too can rest assured that God has every little detail of our lives under his control, that nothing we'll face we'll have to face alone and that we too can shout for joy because the Holy One is among us!

Ana Orsini


All contents copyright 2003 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action. Permission is granted to United Methodist congregations, individuals and groups to reproduce and distribute this devotional without charge. All other use requires the advance permission of the editor.