News!

Today is a day of JOY!  God is continuing His redemptive work in our family, and we praise Him from whom all blessings flow.

The Lord has blessed us with another pregnancy… and it’s a precious BOY!!! 

We just found out today and are thrilled!  We are about 16.5 weeks along and due early-mid January.   I still have to see a high-risk doctor to be monitored for a few issues; I love my new doctors so far!  We would certainly appreciate your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby.  Thank you for sharing in our joy!

The big brother and big brother-to-be are very excited!

A few other happenings:

John in his new stander.  Daniel likes it too! 

Saturday night, we were able to take John to the Atlanta branch of the International House of Prayer.  We had a rich time of prayer in one of the healing rooms, and we are already noticing John making new movements.  We are grateful for a God to whom we can bring our deepest longings, knowing He hears our prayers.  We prayed for continued breakthroughs.  When we left IHOP, this is what the sky looked like!  I captured this "breakthrough" through our van window!

Markers of Healing

A couple of weeks ago, I was cleaning out drawers and cabinets full of old and half-used vitamins, supplements, oils, medicines, U-bags, creams, etc… everything we have used for John in the past.  I tossed what had expired or was no longer needed. 

Here is the most significant item that landed in our garbage can:

This bag held the remaining powder sachets of the anti-convulsant, Vigabatrin. It was the one medicine (added to four others) that finally helped to alleviate John’s seizures.  The Holy Grail of seizure meds…  If you remember from the Caringbridge days, at one point we were so desperate to have this medicine for John before our meager supply ran out that Meade flew to Canada for less than 24 hours to get it from a pharmacist in Toronto who took pity on us.  At the time, Vigabatrin was legal but not yet FDA-approved in the U.S.  And when we first came home from the PICU with John, we did not realize this medicine typically had to come from England and through US Customs before arriving on our doorstep two weeks later… an eternity when you are counting minutes and hours between seizures.

This was not my first attempt to throw away this medicine.  Despite its expiration date of 2011, it wasn’t until two weeks ago that we had the faith and confidence (and JOY) to get rid of it forever!

It is crucial to have these markers in our lives.  These moments when we can reflect on the Lord’s past faithfulness.  We continue to pray for John’s healing, and yet we are reminded of how very far the Lord has brought John in His great mercy.

For our family, this picture represents no longer living in that kind of fear and uncertainty.  The fear that destroys.  The uncertainty that robs.  We are set free.

I pray we will all keep track of the markers God has placed in our lives in each season.  And that these healing markers will give us strength for today and hope for tomorrow.  Because Lord knows, in this shabby and trying world, we desperately need strength and hope!

“All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; 

my sighing is not hidden from you.

I wait for you O Lord; 

you will answer O Lord my God.”

-Psalm 38: 9, 15

A few updates:

-John had a great appointment a month or so ago with the ENT.  His ears have no more fluid and very little negative pressure...no need for ear tubes!  Praise God!

-John's communication device arrived!  Pray for us as we have an appointment to configure it and as we learn how to use it to best enable John to communicate.

-John had an amazing two week summer session at his new school and starts back August 6th! We are so grateful for the Lord's provision.  Pictures to come!

Another marker of how the Lord provides!  Sweet Emily got married on the 13th, and she was our first helper last summer after we moved to Atlanta.  She then proceeded to recommend these other fabulous girls who have been such a blessing (Caroline in the fall, Dana this summer, and Gracie in the spring).  We love you all, and congratulations Jonathan and Emily!

At the dentist!  First time for Daniel.

Not Just for John

"Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; 

save me and I will be saved, 

for you are the one I praise."

-Jeremiah 17:14

I came across this verse a couple of weeks ago… a new one for me.  And for whatever reason, perhaps due to my limited faith, I am still surprised to see additional verses on healing in the Bible.  As if I have made up all the others and their biblical prominence due to naivety and wishful thinking.  As if the Lord is not the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

The hope is that the Lord does remain the same; He does not waver, does not change.  We have counted on this truth as we have felt called to pray for John’s earthly healing ever since he was struck by that very first seizure at 31 hours of life.  Our prayers were desperate at first, cries of anguish, cries from the depths of despair with nowhere else to turn.  Then our prayers gained confidence as we grew in hope founded only in our God.  And yes, we have seen countless miracles.  But of course, we long for more.  And as the years peel off the calendar, despite feeling as if we move in slow-motion while the rest of the world is on fast forward, we doubt at times.  We languish.  We question.  We look to other solutions.  We attempt to fabricate our own path out of a frantic desire for control.  We begin to take our eyes off of the Healer, replace Him, and strive to heal ourselves. 

Fortunately, conviction sets in.  We confess.  We refocus.  We continue to petition the Lord for miracles.  With feeble hearts still learning, we attempt to have faith on our son’s behalf. 

But seasons do change, and with that so do our prayers.  After a couple of years, once we realized how smart and perceptive John is, we felt uneasy about praying these desperate prayers over John, in his presence.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I think prayers should never lessen out of fear, nor should we diminish our passion.  However, we did not want John to feel defective or lesser or that he was not fearfully and wonderfully made as a result of praying for his healing.  We were torn.

But the Lord provided.  We continued to pray for healing in John’s presence, but we prayed for all of our healing.  And then the greater revelation occurred… oh, the truth we can learn from children.  We were supposedly praying for our family’s healing for John’s self-esteem, but the truth we realized is that we truly all do need healing.  We are all broken; none of us can escape our own sin or the effects of the fall found in this world.  

So we will keep lifting our eyes to heaven, unfolding our requests, uniting our hearts in communion with the Healer.

Yes, John needs God’s miracle touch.  But so do we.

“Who can look into a child and forget miracle?

… every child’s a thin place.  I see God.”

-Ann Voskamp