[bible]Joshua 4:1-7[/bible]
Today is Saint Patrick’s Day but it’s also a very special day for Sonya and me. It’s important for me to remember the good things that the Lord has accomplished in my life and to bring to remembrance times of extraordinary Providence where He has shown me and my family tremendous mercy. My heart is forgetful and I neglect to thank Him daily for the sun rising and falling and upholding all things within which Providences He proclaims that we know that His mercy will never fail for His own. In my hard-heartedness, however, the Lord is gracious to extraordinarily remind me of His mercy – to awake me from my slumber – and remind me that He is a good God and Savior.
[IMGL]http://www.L..us/Anna/Day2/slides/Anna2004-03-18_12.30.11.JPG[/IMGL]At 0040 on March 17, 2004, I was overjoyed to see my daughter and second child Anna come into the world. People travel to and fro looking for “experiences” in life and I cannot compare any experience in life quite so sweet as seeing your own child for the first time. After a little time with Mommy and a few pictures, I got to accompany my little girl to be cleaned up.
I’ve watched the video back and it’s interesting how I was jabbering away (as you know I’m prone to do) and videoing Anna’s weighing and other measurements. The nurses started to talk to themselves about Anna’s oxygen levels and I don’t remember how everything progressed but I simply remember Anna’s respirations going off the charts to over 100 respirations per minute as she was gasping for every breath. I kept staring at the respiration meter praying to God that they would go down because I didn’t want to go to Sonya with this news but, a couple of hours later, she wandered in and we hugged and cried.
As I’ve read and meditated more widely on the Providence of God I’ve become so thankful for the healing process and the glory of man’s gifts from a Creator whose image he bears. A NICU team from Bethesda drove down in an ambulance and rescued my daughter while friends from New Life in VA and Providence in CA were up early in the morning and praying for my daughter. As news from the emergency workers, who treated Anna for severe anemia, came to me that she would be OK, the mercy of God and the love of the Saints were overwhelming to me.
Being up all night makes it seem like the day never ends but after spending some time with Anna and Sonya in Bethesda, I drove back exhausted that evening but happy to see James (then 20 months) who I hadn’t seen in over a day. I was just so thankful that we were out of the woods with Anna.
But then I called Sonya before going to bed and she told me that Anna had suffered a seizure and an EEG was scheduled the next day.
The EEG revealed that Anna had suffered three strokes en utero and might have died if born even a day later. More pressing was the fact that the EEG revealed that the areas of the brain controlled sight and mental acuity. We might have a blind and severely retarded daughter.
I don’t know how to describe how Sonya and I felt but the irony is that we had visited a Church we used to attend in Springfield the week before and I remember a family with a son with severe disabilities that they had raised for over 20 years. I thought: “How can a family do this?” As I looked down at my daughter she was the most beautiful thing in the world to me (by the way, that’s what all parents think no matter how ugly a newborn really is). I said with Sonya: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” We were just happy to have our girl.
Over several months of testing, Anna flourished. You all, who know her, realize how vibrant and intelligent she is. We are truly blessed.
But we’re not blessed because things worked out. I don’t want you to misunderstand why I remember this every year. We’re blessed because God came very close to us during that time and visited us with His compassion. You never forget that touch and I need to remind myself yearly of it as a memorial to His steadfastness.
It’s a story about Anna but it’s bigger than Anna. It’s the occasion of her birthday but it’s bigger than her birthday. We’ve got four kids now instead of two and they’ll learn to understand why this day is so important to Mommy and Daddy. For now, however, the kids are just happy to celebrate Anna’s birthday and go see a movie together as a family.
Our cup overflows not because we are particularly good or worthy but because, in time and space, God sent His Son into the world to redeem a people to Himself. I’m blessed, with Sonya, to be caught up in that amazing story of redemption and our kids with us. I’m also blessed that He wrote a little footnote in that story in our family’s life to give us something particular and unique to celebrate every year.
Happy Birthday my beautiful little girlie. May your children’s children call upon the name of the Lord. May you know the joy of weeping for joy over your own children seeing the blessings that He richly and abundantly provides that none of us deserve.
Today is Saint Patrick’s Day but it’s also a very special day for Sonya and me. It’s important for me to remember the good things that the Lord has accomplished in my life and to bring to remembrance times of extraordinary Providence where He has shown me and my family tremendous mercy. My heart is forgetful and I neglect to thank Him daily for the sun rising and falling and upholding all things within which Providences He proclaims that we know that His mercy will never fail for His own. In my hard-heartedness, however, the Lord is gracious to extraordinarily remind me of His mercy – to awake me from my slumber – and remind me that He is a good God and Savior.
[IMGL]http://www.L..us/Anna/Day2/slides/Anna2004-03-18_12.30.11.JPG[/IMGL]At 0040 on March 17, 2004, I was overjoyed to see my daughter and second child Anna come into the world. People travel to and fro looking for “experiences” in life and I cannot compare any experience in life quite so sweet as seeing your own child for the first time. After a little time with Mommy and a few pictures, I got to accompany my little girl to be cleaned up.
I’ve watched the video back and it’s interesting how I was jabbering away (as you know I’m prone to do) and videoing Anna’s weighing and other measurements. The nurses started to talk to themselves about Anna’s oxygen levels and I don’t remember how everything progressed but I simply remember Anna’s respirations going off the charts to over 100 respirations per minute as she was gasping for every breath. I kept staring at the respiration meter praying to God that they would go down because I didn’t want to go to Sonya with this news but, a couple of hours later, she wandered in and we hugged and cried.
As I’ve read and meditated more widely on the Providence of God I’ve become so thankful for the healing process and the glory of man’s gifts from a Creator whose image he bears. A NICU team from Bethesda drove down in an ambulance and rescued my daughter while friends from New Life in VA and Providence in CA were up early in the morning and praying for my daughter. As news from the emergency workers, who treated Anna for severe anemia, came to me that she would be OK, the mercy of God and the love of the Saints were overwhelming to me.
Being up all night makes it seem like the day never ends but after spending some time with Anna and Sonya in Bethesda, I drove back exhausted that evening but happy to see James (then 20 months) who I hadn’t seen in over a day. I was just so thankful that we were out of the woods with Anna.
But then I called Sonya before going to bed and she told me that Anna had suffered a seizure and an EEG was scheduled the next day.
The EEG revealed that Anna had suffered three strokes en utero and might have died if born even a day later. More pressing was the fact that the EEG revealed that the areas of the brain controlled sight and mental acuity. We might have a blind and severely retarded daughter.
I don’t know how to describe how Sonya and I felt but the irony is that we had visited a Church we used to attend in Springfield the week before and I remember a family with a son with severe disabilities that they had raised for over 20 years. I thought: “How can a family do this?” As I looked down at my daughter she was the most beautiful thing in the world to me (by the way, that’s what all parents think no matter how ugly a newborn really is). I said with Sonya: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” We were just happy to have our girl.
Over several months of testing, Anna flourished. You all, who know her, realize how vibrant and intelligent she is. We are truly blessed.
But we’re not blessed because things worked out. I don’t want you to misunderstand why I remember this every year. We’re blessed because God came very close to us during that time and visited us with His compassion. You never forget that touch and I need to remind myself yearly of it as a memorial to His steadfastness.
It’s a story about Anna but it’s bigger than Anna. It’s the occasion of her birthday but it’s bigger than her birthday. We’ve got four kids now instead of two and they’ll learn to understand why this day is so important to Mommy and Daddy. For now, however, the kids are just happy to celebrate Anna’s birthday and go see a movie together as a family.
Our cup overflows not because we are particularly good or worthy but because, in time and space, God sent His Son into the world to redeem a people to Himself. I’m blessed, with Sonya, to be caught up in that amazing story of redemption and our kids with us. I’m also blessed that He wrote a little footnote in that story in our family’s life to give us something particular and unique to celebrate every year.
Happy Birthday my beautiful little girlie. May your children’s children call upon the name of the Lord. May you know the joy of weeping for joy over your own children seeing the blessings that He richly and abundantly provides that none of us deserve.
