Life Still Comes At You
Caring Bridge - June 12, 2019:
It’s been a busy and hectic week so far, starting Sunday night when our car unexpectedly broke down in a major way. Thankfully, we were about 25 minutes from family at the time, and were able to borrow a car to get Asher to Memphis for his Monday morning appointments. We’ve got a rental now, so we’re ok, but pray that the car can be repaired and back on the road without any further issues.
I have to confess: this was a bigger deal than I made it out to be. We had left Tupelo and were on our way back to Memphis when the car died; like dead. We were only about 45 minutes outside of Tupelo at the time, so the in-laws came to the rescue. They brought a car for Leah and Asher to take onward to Memphis, and brought Annelise and I back to Tupelo where the car would be towed to a dealership for diagnosis the next day.
Our vehicle was a salvage vehicle. Trying to save a few bucks, ya know? Anyway, the short version is that the engine was toast. with less than 60000 miles on it. So much for saving a few bucks.
But let me say, if I haven’t already, that people had been crazy generous, and we had plenty of money to sort this out with. And for that reason, I played this very close to the chest. I only told a select few people, and I gave those people explicit instructions not to share. Why? Because I knew that if I did, someone else was going to throw money at us again. We didn’t need it, and I frankly just wanted them to pray. One of those people I told did happen to mention it to their parents (you know who you are) and whose father proceeded to give the dealership $250 toward the cost, proving my point.
I hesitated to even tell this part of the story for fear it would sound self-righteous. The point is not us turning down money. The first point is that God had provided plenty of money for us to pay for everything we needed to pay for in 2019, and more. The second point that I really wanted people to get was that prayer was more valuable and effective than money.
I gave the car incident three sentences, and pivoted to points of gratitude.
There are lots of things to be thankful for this week.
We’re thankful that Asher’s breathing has improved to pre-shunt surgery levels, and that his dizziness has begun to ease. We’re thankful that the shunt has alleviated the hydrocephalus, and the headaches have stopped. Please continue to pray for healing and symptom improvement. Pray specifically that the cyst, which appears to almost completely stopped growing, would begin to resolve.
The clinical trial began today. It was an all-day affair, and Asher handled it like a champ: back-to-back appointments, multiple blood draws, and delayed meals. As I write this, he’s sitting on the bed with headphones on, loudly singing the songs he’s listening to (even ones without lyrics), much to our entertainment. We’re so thankful we had no issues with the medication today. Pray that the clinical trial will continue to go smoothly, and that his spirits would remain high.
We are thankful that we’re moving to new housing tomorrow, and we’ve been blessed with a place that has two bedrooms. This is big deal for us, because one parent will be able to attend to Asher throughout the night while the other parent and Annelise can get a full night’s rest. Leah and I also have a space to have private conversation, and even relax a little after putting the kids to bed.
I’ve been off work for a week, and I’ve been burning vacation time. I’m thankful for the continued graciousness and kindness of the company I work for, and the men who I report to. Pray that I can transition back to remote work schedule this week.
Weekends with family tend to look like an oasis in the desert, when life has been coming at you hard all week. The kids are happy seeing and playing with cousins, and the adults are ready and eager to lend a hand. Pray that we can have restful weekend. We sure could use it.
Pray that the Author and Finisher of our faith would continue to grant us the faith we so desperately need to get through each day. And that, as Paul said, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.