Thankfulness In All Circumstances by Yvonne Morgan My life was just as I had planned it. I married my best friend and high school sweetheart, Bill. We bought our first home and settled in for a long and happy life together. I held a fantastic job in my field of study, accounting. I felt I lived “the American dream.” Over the next few years, I birthed two beautiful daughters, Kathrine and Kristine. We found a great church home, which provided us with many great friendships and activities for our growing family. Everything continued to move along according to my plan. I felt in control of my life and my future. I allowed God to come along for the ride, but I did all the driving. Everything changed with the birth of our third child in 1993, William Charles. William came into the world with severe birth defects. We soon learned he had Tetrasomy 9P, an extremely rare chromosome condition. The list of problems in his little body kept growing each day. We lost our only son nine days later as he died in my arms. My world shattered, and I grappled with the loss. I questioned God on why He allowed this to happen to me. Nothing felt like it would ever be perfect again. For the next couple of years, I wandered through the days, weeks, and months in a dense fog; it appeared never-ending. I fell into a depression, which made me think I would never laugh or be happy again. However, God stood ready to use this experience in my life to turn my world upside down in a positive way if I would let Him.
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By January 1997, I still felt like I moved through life in a fog of grief, but I could see the edges of the fog slowly lifting. Since William’s death, I have learned to trust God again. I started to allow Him to direct my life as well. I began to realize God’s plans were always perfect. During that time, I attended a meeting at our church. I heard a presentation about a mission trip to Haiti. As I listened, I experienced a strange sensation. I felt God whisper to my heart, “go to Haiti.” The thought unsettled me as I wrestled with the idea of a mission trip. I knew I hated camping because of the bugs and lack of creature comforts. So, how could I go on a mission trip? The thought of missions never occurred to me. I felt illequipped for any kind of Christian work. What was God thinking in asking me to do such a thing? However, I landed in Haiti in July 1997 for a weeklong mission trip working with impoverished children. The impact of this trip on my life was enormous. The children I saw on the trip were filthy and wore rags. Their stomachs distended from constant hunger. They dug through trash piles for scraps of food to stave off the emptiness in their bellies. But slowly, they showed me a purpose in the trip as we handed out rations to these poor little ones each day. God revealed to me how I could help poor and neglected children in His world. He told me how I could be His hands and feet.
