“Therefore I tell
you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life
more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Look at the birds of
the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a
single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry
about clothes? See how the flowers of
the field grow. They do not labor or
spin. Yet I tell you that not even
Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of
little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we
eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For
the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you
need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about itself. Each
day has enough trouble of its own.” –Matthew
6:25-34
“Jesus, I just don’t know how to do this, please help me.” This was the only prayer I could utter during
the hours after we learned of Haven’s diagnosis. I remember praying it over and over again as
I grieved the loss of the daughter I knew, realizing that we would need a
miracle to see her completely restored to us.
I prayed this prayer while crying with a friend, while walking numbly
through the hospital halls, while looking at the MRI of Haven’s damaged brain
and hearing the words “we’ll just have to wait and see” from the
neurologist. I meditated on this prayer
while falling asleep, while driving home alone, while putting my kids to bed without
the aid of my partner and husband.
As I prayed during those dark days a verse I remembered reading
the night before we received Haven’s diagnosis kept coming to mind. “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried
to my God for help. From his temple he
heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” The passage then describes how God actually
came down from heaven to deliver the writer from his troubles.
What do you ask God for during times like these? What can He provide other than a miraculous
healing to bring comfort? I didn’t even really know what I needed, yet
alone what to ask! Well let me tell you
what happened! My phone began ringing. Next, emails flooded my mail box. Text messages, cards and notes poured
in. Family and friends began to visit
offering hugs, a listening ear, and encouragement. Haven’s room was suddenly filled by Christian
therapists, nurses, and doctors – each one offering encouragement. A fourth year medical student took interest
in Haven and our family, and he began making daily visits to see Haven, even praying
with us on her last day in PICU. A
social worker who attends a church very much like ours just happened to be
assigned to Haven’s case. She took
special interest in our girl and has stopped several times to help Haven and
encourage me. We’ve had many Christian
nurses and therapists assigned to our case and praying for our girl. Then, our homeschool group came to our
rescue, offering to take turns helping our kiddos with school work and child
care during the days that we cannot be home.
People brought meals. Some sent
gift cards. Others brought goodies to
make our hospital stay more comfortable.
Our church family and Aaron’s coworkers have also been wonderful in so
many ways.
We don’t know why Haven had to be the less than 0.3% of kids
who experience trouble during this surgery.
We may never understand. We are
just so grateful that God has blessed us so richly with encouraging believers
who are loving and encouraging us through each day! May He be praised!
HEALTH UPDATE –
Today was one of the most encouraging days so far. Haven has been struggling during her therapy
sessions. Actually the phrase screaming
like a lunatic would more accurately describe Haven’s attitude toward
her therapists and what they want her to do! Occupational therapy has been her least favorite because her hands and
arms seem to be most affected by the stroke.
During Haven’s session yesterday, she screamed and pitched a fit so
violently that she actually gave herself a bloody nose! It wasn't much, but it was definitely a
result of her sincere dislike for all the therapist was trying to do with Haven’s
arms and hands. Last night, as I was
rocking Haven to sleep, I began thinking about all the skills she needed to
relearn with those little hands. I
started feeling overwhelmed and realized that no progress could be made until
Haven began cooperating. So, I decided
to pray for the therapist. I prayed for
Haven. I prayed for myself that I would
know how to help her make friends with the occupational therapist. This morning, the therapist told me that she
had done the same! So, we cautiously
started Haven’s session with some silly play.
Haven smiled at this therapist for the first time and started laughing
at some of her antics. The session flew
by. Haven used her hands and arms better
than I’ve seen in the last 2 ½ weeks. I
actually saw more smiles than tears! I
thought of the verse, “For where two or three have gathered together in
My name, I am there in their midst.” - Matthew 18:20
Yesterday Haven drank a total of 10 ounces of thickened juice
from a cup. She ate like crazy at each
meal, and we reduced her tube feedings.
Today Haven continues to eat and drink well. She is not able to eat ‘normal’ toddler
foods, but she is able to handle level 3 baby food and other smooth foods. We are hopeful that the feeding tube will
come out in the next two weeks.
Haven took several steps while assisted today during PT
(physical therapy). She screamed like a
crazy girl, but anger seems to really work for her, so we’re going with it for
now. She is holding her head up better
each day as well. We are amazed at the
daily progress she continues to make.
Praise God for His blessings—big and small!
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