February 10, 2015 – a Tuesday.
What’s been going on? Warning: this bit is about God and our lives here in
general. So read, or not, you have been warned.
Praise Report! Little Olaf went
to his pulmonologist last Thursday. So, so sweet – his physician stayed late to
get him in since she learned that we were moving and his regular appointment
was still 3 weeks away. Anyway, our boy has grown – taller and put on some
weight! However, he now needs to gain at least 3lbs instead of the usual 1lb.
We are pushing those cupcakes, brownies and big, fatty meals over here! But the
exciting news was that he FEVI score (measures how much air he can push through
his lungs – this is a BIG deal for those with CF) was 101%?!!! What?! I know!
Nothing short of miraculous!! His last test measured around 80% so this is
HUGE!
While at the office, my O and I
could feel the love around us. The amazing nurse, the caring doctor. Poor
Little O knew that this would be his last appointment with his care team and he
grieved hard. At one point, He was in his physician’s lap and they were crying
together. I just sat there teary-eyed, amazed and thankful. Love can grow and
flourish in relationships that you may never expect. It was moving. We left
with heavy hearts but uplifted spirits. Look what God did with the hearts of a
nurse, a doctor and a little patient. It was a love of respect, great care, and
of an investment of time. But on that day it was palpable. Afterwards, Little O
and I picked up Jonah and I took them out for ice cream. I wanted for them to
focus on something fun and I needed to process these events.
Friday, I carried back a precious
little visitor who had snuck into our bed around 5:30, but then laid there
awake. Turns out that the Big O was awake as well. It was closing day on the
new house! We got up and got the boys to school, left all of their stuff (O’s
therapy things, bedding) in a pile for the dear neighbors to pick up later, and
hit the road. It took us about an hour to realize that we were alone, just the
two of us, like it was years before, however we are older, rounder, and
hopefully wiser now. It was fun. Long story short – a few repairs were not completed
in the home to our satisfaction so we were unable to close that day. It was
really surreal. We stood there in what we thought would be our new house that
day and just thought, “Huh.” There was nothing to do but wait – well, our
realtor did most of the work while we just stood there and waited. We even took
a walk around the block at one point to clear our heads and seek counsel from
wise friends. We never had the feeling of “Run; however, we did not know why
things were not going as planned. You know that saying about the best laid
plans……. Bonus, we got to go out to dinner alone and stay in a fun hotel (where
we crashed at 10:30)! We are so wild! However, even then we did not receive quality
sleep. We were tired from an early start, long drive and unexpected results. We
drove back on Saturday, which was more exhausting, but that is when a few
things began to fall into place.
We realized that even though we
would close on that house, it would not be until this week. This fact pushed our actual moving date back a week and
we found out yesterday that we will not move down until next week. What does this all mean to us- please, let me tell you
how personal our God is! Our sweet boys were both upset to miss their Valentine’s
party at school. Well, now they will be there! The seller of the home could not
get something repaired so we will now receive some cash to repair that item. We
can use that! This Mama finally went
to the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis yesterday, so I am grateful for
an extra week of rest before the moving madness/new job/new schools/new life
schedule starts! I will take our little Jonah to the doctor later today because
his coughs have gotten worse – without any background noise (read rush) in my head! We missed church this
past weekend because Jonah and I were not well. He did better than me; I got up
at 9 and went back to bed at 11. Fortunately, the Big O is an amazing father,
so he took care of his boys while Mama rested – I love that man! However, we
will get to attend this weekend for our last service there! But the biggest
bonus for us moving down one week later is that we get to spend more time with
our family/friends here! Oh, our God is so so good to us! He cares about our
littles and our bigs! From Valentine’s parties, to resting, to spending quality
time with those you love – He knows and is giving us this gift of time!
Looking back and knowing all of
the ups and downs that we have encountered this year alone, I am ashamed that I
have not recorded (most) of them for you to read. If anything, I just want
people to know Jesus. The more that I spend time getting to know Him, the more
I am often left speechless at His goodness, His love but most especially His
faithfulness. He has never left us hanging, not even once. When we do not
understand (like driving six hours and then driving another six the next day
with no new house), we found rest in knowing that He knew this was coming and
He will fill us in in His good timing. Hey – maybe He just wanted us to have a
date!
We really do realize how crazy
this Jesus stuff sounds to many people; however, I encourage you to get to know
Him. You can do this by picking up a Bible in an easy-to-understand translation
– trust me, this rocked my world! When I could actually understand what was
going on, I could hardly put it down! I recommend and use the New Living
Translation (NLT). It’s in plain-Jane English and I love it. The Bible can open
up your heart and mind to God, as the Bible is a living, breathing book. I have
found this to be true, as I have read it several times now and every single time I get something new
out of it that pertains to my current situation. Really. Try it. It is
God-breathed. He knows you, He created you and He wants to give you the best
life on this side of time and the next. The Bible has changed me for the
better, I am not perfect for sure – never will be, but I am better. The best
part though is that the Bible challenges me to make bold steps, with people and
things. There is no way that my selfish
self would do many of the things that I do without Jesus challenging me to do
so. It’s just not possible for me. However, He fills me up and keeps me going,
craving more of His crazy love for His people.
This all leads back to our girl.
Adoption was God’s idea. He told us to do it. It sounded pretty crazy from a
human perspective. I mean, we are a bit older than some of our children’s’
parents, our oldest son has Cystic Fibrosis, it’s just so risky (that’s a funny
one – will write about that one later), it takes so long, it costs so much, didn’t
we have enough on our hands, we are not qualified to raise another child, we
are busy enough, right? Excuses are so human and way too easy. We prayed about
this and then leaned on what we have learned through years of reading the Bible
and listening for His voice. If He asks us to do something, anything at all, He
will see us through the entire process and then be as wild as to bless us for
being obedient! Like, really. I appreciate when my boys obey but I am not going
to pass out candy every time. But my God does. Often it is in the form of
immense joy and a constant state of peace. Sometimes, it is fun surprises like a
date night, free babysitting offered from friends, an extra percent off that I
did not see at the clothing store, or people doing things to make our lives easier
for free. It’s always a surprise, but I know that it’s Him.
I can attest that
we have been more blessed by the all-encompassing peace that He has given to us
than probably anything else. Car needs an expensive part – peace in knowing
that He will provide. Suddenly the washing machine kicks the bucket – He provided
within several hours! School had to call an ambulance for our son – this was
concerning, of course, but I told myself immediately and repeated it out loud, “God
you have got this. Please, protect him.” The “He’s got this” part was a
personal reminder to me; the “protect him” prayer was for my son. There is even
MORE craziness than this; however, I will not share them all in this blog.
Point is: God cares for you more than you probably realize and He desires for
you to get to know Him. He cannot wait to shower you with blessings that are
personal in nature to you. He thinks about you all of the time. He knows you
better than yourself. Why not take 5 minutes and just read? It could change
your life in ways you have never dreamed of!
