My friend Sherry and her husband John have four extraordinary daughters. You don’t have to look very far to find out where the four daughters’ extraordinary qualities come from…just look at their parents! John is the Sunday School teacher for my group at church, and each week he faithfully takes us deeper and deeper into the Word. Sherry is always willing to help in any area, but especially with teaching children. And she does far more than just covering the teaching material. She goes above and beyond to make the Bible become real and inspiring to the children in our church.

Here are Sherry’s words of how God used her four extraordinary daughters to remind her of His plan for her life, as well as her family’s.

This is Sherry’s story.

“And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in You.” Psalm 39:7
I was saved at a young age and drifted away from the Lord in my teen years. I became a teen mom. My first daughter, Hope, was born. I went through a period of depression as I was finding my way back to the Lord. God is faithful and He brought me back to Himself with open arms. Isaiah 44:22 “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

1 Corinthians 13:4a. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind.”
A couple of years later we were blessed with another baby…Charity. Shortly after she was born, I was given a shot at the doctors office which caused me to be unable to stand. My vision became fuzzy, my thinking cloudy, and my speech slurred. My muscles tensed and would not relax. No doctor could find the cause or offer any hope. However, I had Hope in the Lord. He provided me with Charity (love) when I had no control over my circumstances. Over the years my symptoms improved and simple seizures remain. Psalm 28:7a “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped.”

Heb. 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Years later we were expecting again. However, the baby was not thriving. We arrived at the hospital to undergo a DNC after testing revealed no heartbeat and blood tests showed the pregnancy was not viable. As soon as we arrived, the nurse decided to run one more unscheduled test and found a heartbeat. We were given Faith, our third daughter, in our time of need. Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Five years later, we were blessed with our fourth child. The baby was diagnosed in utero as having only one partially functioning kidney. The other kidney was an unformed mass of cysts and tissue. Surgery was imminent. The outcome was bleak. We prayed for her to have two kidneys at birth. We prayed that there would be no surgery. When the baby was born she did have two kidneys. However, the doctors said she would need one kidney removed and a portion of the other removed as well. She had cysts in her bladder which could block her kidneys and those must be removed too. Because of our reluctance, the surgeon agreed to wait and watch the situation. She continued to improve dramatically, astounding the doctors. Today, Lilah Grace has two functioning kidneys. Both kidneys are normal size. As for the bladder cysts, one disappeared completely, and the other shrank to a minimal size. No surgery has been performed. She is on no medication. By God’s grace the doctors say she is very remarkable. Lamentations 3-22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Throughout everything, God has given us His Grace to hold on to Hope in order to trust Him in Faith, while He wrapped us in His love (Charity).

Hope, Faith, Charity, and Lilah Grace