Fernando Ortega

Last night, Christian recording artist, Fernando Ortega, gave a concert at our church. My husband and I are huge fans of Fernando's, and we were greatly blessed by last night's performance. I am continually amazed at his musical and poetic gifts and his ability to make the complex sound so simple and calm. Whenever I feel stressed or on-edge, Fernando's music can calm me down and get me to return my focus to Christ.

Just before attending the concert, my husband and I went to the hospital to visit his sister, Debby. She was admitted last week for breathing difficulties related to her muscular dystrophy. She had already come through one procedure successfully this past week (the draining of her lungs) and seemed to be headed on the road to recovery. However, yesterday afternoon, it was necessary for the medical staff to put her on a ventilator. That procedure, while still successful, did not go as well as we would have hoped. Therefore, it is necessary for her to go on a trach vent, which will be permanent. That procedure will be done tomorrow morning at 8:00 am. We have known for several months that a trach vent was inevitable, and now, that day is here.

The first song that Fernando sang last night was "Our Great God", which is one of the most beautiful and worshipful songs I have ever heard. Whenever I hear that song, I am taken back to June of last year and the funeral of Erik Steffen, a young man from our church. I was driven to tears at the funeral as I watched his wife, Kelly, stand to her feet with arms raised towards heaven as we (the congregation) sang "Hallelujah, Glory be to Our Great God". It takes great faith to praise God in the midst of such a painful trial. And as I sat there last night, still hurting from seeing my sister-in-law lying so helpless in that bed and none of us really knowing what the days ahead will hold, I was comforted in knowing that we serve a GREAT GOD, who shelter us in the storms of this life despite our weaknesses and frailties.

While it's so easy to get overwhelmed by the shear awfulness of Debby's situation, there is still much to be thankful for. Debby has raised two beautiful daughters, and she has more friends than I could even try to count. These friends have been a huge help to her over the years, and I'm sure that they will continue to be there for her in the months ahead. I am thankful for all of my husbands siblings--it is a very close-knit family that has certainly learned how to weather storms together. I am thankful that God allowed her the time and opportunity to make the decision to get the trach vent. I am thankful that my husband and I are surrounded by such loving brothers and sisters in Christ who are praying for the entire family. And, I thank God that HE IS SOVEREIGN! No matter what happens, God is still in control and worthy of our praise.

Fernando's latest album, The Shadow of Your Wings, is a meditative worship album, and was written while he was dealing with the loss of some relatives in the past couple of years. One of our associate pastors challenged us at the end of the concert to go out and turn the ugly stuff in our lives into beautiful music (he worded it much better--this is the best paraphrase I can come up with). And that is my prayer for Debby--that she will be comforted by God and will give all of the glory to Him, and in so doing, Christ's beauty will be made known to everyone who comes into contact with her.