Fly a Little Higher: How God Answered a Mom's Small Prayer in a Big Way

by Laura Sobiech

Zach knew his suffering had purpose, even if he didn’t see the reason.

He had always been a compassionate soul; empathy was so natural for him.

I recalled a memory I’d held in my heart from years earlier when he was four and his little sister, Grace, was nine months old. She was born with a ventricular septal defect, a hole in her heart, and had it repaired with open-heart surgery.

Now he was being challenged to see God in the not-so-pretty things, his open heart ready to receive the grace that God would pour into

They lived what they preached and, in doing so, preached by living.

And to know that joy—not just happiness, but true joy—comes when we give up our own agenda and let God work through us.

Somehow he managed to look forward to each day even though he knew it would likely bring with it periods of misery. He refused to let what he suffered define and contain him.

He was telling the story of his faith by being joyful in the midst of suffering, and he was doing it without uttering a word.

His life was unfolding as an answer to every prayer my heart as a mother had ever uttered for my child: that his life would emulate Christ and thereby bring Christ to others.

“Physical pain is a joke. It’s just Satan’s way of messing with you and trying to get you to feel sorry for yourself,” he said. “Mental and spiritual pain are different. That’s the real battle where faith and prayer come in.”