Please Keep Silas In Your Prayers

// April 30th, 2010 // 15 Comments » // Loux Family News

On Monday, May 3rd, our precious little Silas will be having surgery again.  He has a lump in his abdomen that needs to be removed.  Silas’ doctor is concerned that it might grow into  a cancerous tumor,  so he’s decided to remove it. Please keep our little one in your prayers.  Silas has been our special angel for almost a year and a half  now. We are so blessed to have him as ours.  He is growing big and strong and Jesus has done much in his little heart,  to bring healing to his body, mind and spirit.

This will  be the first surgery I’ve had to walk through with one of our children,  without Derek by my side.  Although I know he’ll be interceeding from heaven,  it will be a little emotional, so I would like to ask for your prayers for me as well. God is faithful!

Thank you so much, again, for so many of you who have sent our family  beautiful words of love, gifts and encouraging music CD’s that have really ministered to our spirit.  Your prayers mean more to me than I could begin to express.

Much love and thanks to each of you!

Renee’ and tribe

At the end of the day… He is enough!

// April 16th, 2010 // 14 Comments » // Loux Family News

(Easter Sunday) Renee' and Tribe

Derek and Renee's Priceless Blessings From Jesus

Sophia, Telma and Michaela

Amazing Silas

Beautiful Telma and Miracle Boy Ethan

Silas, beautiful Michaela and happy Sasha

Our beautiful Sophia and Michaela

Michaela

Taking time to smell the flowers

Sana and her priceless smile, holding on to her older sister KK (Michaela)

I love our girls! Keyolla, Telma, Leeann and Teyolla are not only beautiful on the outside but incredibly beautiful on the inside too! What gifts they are to me!

Our beauties

Key Key and me

How thankful I am for my mom who is such a great support to me and to our kids!

In the weeks and months following the accident that led to the death of my precious husband and the father of our 10 children, I’ve gone from feelings of numbness and shock, to feeling overwhelmed by a wide range of all kinds of emotions.  Once touched by pain, you are not the same….. never… but, you are the one who makes the choice to let that pain drive you away from Jesus to a place of anger and offense, or into his arms, as your only hope;  not just hope to make it through the great pain and sadness, but hope to live this life with a vibrant passion for Jesus and for all the dreams He has put in your heart.

In September of 1995, my daddy (Sam Sasser) died very unexpectedly after surgery.  His death would be the first of four devastating losses in my life.  Nine months following Daddy’s death, mine and Derek’s firstborn son Josiah, would also go on to be with Jesus,  at 2 and ½ years old.  Three months after Josiah’s death, I lost the child I was carrying in my womb. I was almost 4 and ½ months along in my pregnancy.  Through all of these incredibly painful losses, I  always had Derek in my life, to cry with, to process the pain with and to hold and comfort me as we walked through all the heartache together.  On December 23^rd,  it was Derek that went home to be with Jesus.  It wasn’t until  his death that I realized how much I had depended on him throughout so much of my life, to be the strength and pillar that I leaned on.  When I was standing over Derek’s coffin, staring in disbelief that this was now my husband’s body I was looking at, I realized I wouldn’t have him to process this great sadness with, because it was now my precious love who was gone. The reality of this knocked the wind out of me.  For years, Derek had been speaking around the world about how God is “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalms 68:5). Now our children and I would come to understand the reality of this truth to the greatest degree one could…. by losing Derek and by completely relying on God in everyway…for everything.

I know I have NEVER been alone.  Everything that’s happened-the grief, the hurt, the confusion, has had me pressing into Jesus to greater degrees than ever before. Have I  walked out this reality every minute of the day since Derek’s death?  No! There have been times throughout the day when all I could feel was grief and I didn’t want to be part of this new ‘widow’s club’.  The reality of Derek’s death stings and there are still some nights when I roll over in my bed, reaching for him, only to be hit with the fact that he’s not there and I’ll never again feel his warm body laying next to mine. So, the pain is definitely still very fresh, but I can truly say that it’s in those moments that Jesus meets me and gently holds my heart, assuring me of his love.  He has proven to me over and over again that He’s here with me and He is not going anywhere.  I trust Him and I’m clinging to Him.  The Lord is giving me his supernatural grace, his strength and his joy.   I  have hope that only comes from my Jesus.  He remains forever constant.  No matter what, God is here with me, with our children and at the end of the day…. God is enough.   He always has been and always will be.

I’m overwhelmed by the emails, messages on facebook and messages on our blog that many of you have sent.  Thank you for your love, your support and your incredible kindness!  So many of you have been used by Jesus to be a healing balm to my heart.  There are also several of you who are walking through much loss and  great pain yourselves..  Thank you for being vulnerable and for sharing your stories with me. I am honored to be on the receiving end of  those of you who are also walking with a ‘limp’ and yet holding on to Jesus and His hope. Don’t give up.  Keep on fighting the good fight… keep your faith and let’s finish this race well (2 Timothy 4:7,8).

Romans 8:37-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Blessings and hugs to each of you,

Renee’ and Tribe