DO YOU SMELL THAT? > At the end of this story, it gives you two options. > > I think you will figure out what option I chose. > > > A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas > > as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of > > Diana Blessing. She was still groggy from surgery. > > Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves > > for the latest news. > > > That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced > > Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency > > Cesarean to deliver couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing. > > > At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, > > they already knew she was perilously premature. > > Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. > > > "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly > > as he could. > > > "There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the > > night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make > > it, her future could be a very cruel one." > > > Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor > > described the devastating problems Dana would likely face > > if she survived. > > > She would never walk, she would never talk, she would > > probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to > > other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to > > complete mental retardation, and on and on. > > > "No! No!" was all Diana could say. > > > She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long > > dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a > > family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream > > was slipping away. > > > But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for > > David and Diana. > > > Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was > > essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only > > intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle > > their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the > > strength of their love. All they could do, as Dana > > struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle > > of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close > > to their precious little girl. > > > There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger. > > But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of > > weight here and an ounce of strength there. > > > At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were > > able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And > > two months later, though doctors continued to gently but > > grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living > > any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home > > from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted. > > > Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young > > girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for > > life. She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or > > physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little > > girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the > > end of her story. > > > One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her > > home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap > > in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother > > Dustin's baseball team was practicing. > > > As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and > > several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell > > silent > > > Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, > > "Do you smell that?" > > > Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a > > thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain." > > > Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" > > > Once again, her mother replied, > > "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain." > > > Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her > > thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, > > > "No, it smells like Him. > > > It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest." > > > Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to > > play with the other children. > > > Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what > > Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family > > had known, at least in their hearts, all along. > > > During those long days and nights of her first two months > > of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to > > touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His > > loving scent that she remembers so well.

| | | Inbox IT'S STRANGE ISN'T IT Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping? &! nbsp; Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie? Isn't it strange that you can't! find! A word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend? Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel or ZANE GREY book? Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church? Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute? Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossi p? Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible? Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there? Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded! right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?

hey guys how are you all I know I haven't written lately but I have been very busy lately. Like I have been practicing for a play that I am putting on on wedsday. I am kind of nervous But I know I will do fine. Well at else i hope I do.