Pray for Anne…

August 2011’s prayer requests:

  1. For Anne’s transition to school to go smoothly, and for Anne’s Kindergarten teacher and new para-pro to understand how to help Anne best;
  2. For Anne’s left ankle… for it to loosen and strengthen so she can support her weight on her left foot without her braces;
  3. For Anne’s impulsivity to decrease and her attention to increase. She has improved HUGE amounts over the summer, but her impulsivity can still be an issue around other children.
  4. And lastly, for Anne to continue to wrestle with God’s goodness and love for her – and ultimately for her to grow to be a faithful woman of God!

Thank you!

How is Anne doing?

Lately, I’ve been thinking that Anne has made huge overall improvements – especially in the last month. In January of this year, I documented “Anne’s status quo” and listed everything she could do both physically and cognitively. Looking back at that post, Anne has made great strides… Continue reading →

Celebration Time!

Today marks the first time Anne did ALL of her business in the potty. She told us every time she needed to go, and kept her pull-up dry all day. Woo-Hoo!!!! I can’t tell you how wonderful this is :-)

Anne continues to bring us so much joy… constantly making us laugh. As we were putting her to bed tonight, Eric said, “Anne, you are such a joy.” Anne replied, “Daddy, my name’s not Joy.”

Thank you Jesus for all that you have done to heal Anne both physically and spiritually. We are SO grateful!

Whate’er My God…

This past Sunday was my week to sing in the worship ensemble at church. It’s rare that I love all the songs we sing on a given morning. There might be one song that really resonates with me …on a good Sunday, maybe two or three – but never all of them :-) But this past Sunday was different. It’s like Greg (our worship director) handpicked my favorite songs – interspersed them with my favorite scripture – and then asked the Holy Spirit to give me a supernatural ability to hear all the harmonies so I could sing without thinking too hard. It was amazing :-)

Here’s a recap of my morning… Continue reading →

Train Ticket

I remember reading The Hiding Place (the story of Corrie Ten Boom) when I was in my late twenties. That book was powerful. I remember thinking, “This woman spent the first half of her life – just normal, and then her life turned upside down.” And then I thought, “I wonder if that will be my story – 40 or so years of a normal, uneventful life and then tragedy strikes.” Your life gets sliced in two. In my case, it’s “before the accident” and “after the accident.”

My next thought was, “She had no idea. All of that time spent with her family in everyday life, and she had no idea that she would watch her sister die in a concentration camp, live to tell the tale, and encourage the world with her story. She had no idea…” Which leads me to the second powerful lesson I learned from this book…

When Corrie was a young girl, she feared her dad dying. As she voiced her fear to her father, he said, (and I’m paraphrasing from memory…) “Corrie, when we travel together on the train, when do I give you your train ticket?” And Corrie replied, “Right before I get on the train.” And her dad said, “Exactly Corrie. And so it will be with your Heavenly Father. He will give you the strength you need to face life’s trials just when you need it – not before…  Do not fear the future Corrie.”

And so here I am… needing another train ticket from God. He’s given me so many over these last months. And tomorrow when I wake up, I’ll ask for another. Because, I’m in the other half of my life…  the “after the accident” part. And I pray that our story brings encouragement to a small portion of the world. For His glory. Goodnight :-)

Anne-isms…

I’ve noticed something new in Anne over the last three or four days. There seems to be a new light in Anne’s eyes…  It’s hard to describe; her face just seems to have more expression. She laughs more and her eyes seem to hold more. Does that make sense?

She’s also saying things that absolutely crack me up. Sometimes I laugh so loud that I startle her, but she recovers quickly and joins in my laughter.  Here are a few examples…

While eating breakfast…

Anne: What if there were a skunk in my cereal?
Me: Your cereal would be really stinky!
Anne: You’re not supposed to say stinky… that’s a bad word.
Me: Oh, I didn’t know that. I’m sorry.
Anne: Speaking of stinky, can I have some pepsi?

Later that morning…

Me: Anne, I don’t have anything to eat for breakfast, what should I eat?
Anne: What about oatmeal?
Me: We’re all out of oatmeal.
Anne: What about eggs?
Me: We ate all the eggs yesterday.
Anne: Hmmmm….  What about fried Anne?

I love this girl!

Goodness

Anne’s self awareness is continuing to improve. And as a result, I feel like she’s sad a lot…

“I’m not good at anything Mommy.”
“I’m sorry I’m such a problem, Mommy.”
“God doesn’t love me, Mommy.”

Imagine how hard it would be to see your brother and sister run, laugh and play… without you. Especially when she was literally in the middle of their play before the accident. But Canon and Kate show Anne tremendous compassion. They are the first to encourage her when she becomes discouraged, and there’s nothing more wonderful than seeing your children encourage one another!

Kate just gave a “good report” about how well Anne did at the pool today… And then Canon piped in describing how great Anne did at speech therapy. I know God is bringing good out of our story… and it is especially encouraging to see His character so evident in my children!

So thankful :-)

Bad Theology

It’s been a while since I’ve written – mainly because I’ve been extra busy and sad. I’ve been wrestling with why I’ve been so sad, and I think it has something to do with bad theology.

Theology is simply what you believe about God. So lately, I’ve been thinking that God is not working on our behalf, or that we’re not important to him anymore, or that he doesn’t really care about us… Crazy right? How in the world could I think such untrue thoughts… After how He’s cared for us this past year… Not to mention that on every page of the Bible is a love letter to me, His child, and to Anne, one of the “least of these.”

Anne struggles too. She often says… “Why did God make my life harder?” In my worst moments, I’ll think… “Why did God make my life harder?” Self pity is the drug that leads to despair. I think this is the other reason for my sadness. Self-pity. And self pity thrives on bad theology!

I’m thankful that God has led me through depression before Anne’s accident. It was the deep realization of God’s goodness that brought me out of depression. Because of that journey, I know God is good. Now that’s some good theology!!

If God’s goodness is the anecdote to bad theology, what is the anecdote to self-pity? Gratefulness. So I’ve been trying to practice gratefulness. Thank you Jesus that she is alive. Thank you Jesus that Anne can stand on her right foot. Thank you for Anne’s smile. Thank you for providing the means to pay for therapy. Thank you for caring for us. Thank you. Thank you for these circumstances that press us more deeply into You. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Pray for Anne…

July 2011’s prayer requests:

  1. For the fruit of the Spirit to be manifested in Anne’s life…  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self control;
  2. For the parts of Anne’s brain that control her left foot and left hand to heal;
  3. For Anne to continue to come alive cognitively. She is amazing. God is so good.
  4. That Anne would continue to learn how to read, write and walk.
  5. Lastly, please thank God for being very close to Anne and giving her the comfort and peace she needs to persevere in her recovery.

July’s prayer requests are the same as June’s… Anne is showing improvement in her ability to write, which is encouraging. She especially needs prayer for the fruit of the Spirit as her awareness of her disabilities continues to emerge. Thank you!

Source of strength

As I was climbing the stairs to bed, my mind twisted its way to worry… “O Lord, how long will I have to care for a disabled child? Her whole life? My whole life? Will there ever be a day when I can trust her to be alone – will the impulsivity ever improve… and her feet? What about her feet?” I stopped myself. And looked for comfort in truth… From Streams in the Desert (June 27):

“The Lord is my strength” (Ex 15:2) to go on. He gives me the power to walk the long, straight, and level path, even when the monotonous way has no turns or curves offering pleasant surprises and when my spirit is depressed with the terrible drudgery.

“The Lord is my strength” to sit still. And what a difficult accomplishment this is! …I feel like the mother who stands by her sick child but is powerless to heal. What a severe test! Yet to do nothing except to sit still and wait requires tremendous strength.

How many times do I turn to God and He speaks directly to my circumstance? So many times. He will supply what I need for today (period). He alone is my strength.

Goodnight.