Hope

Thanks for all of the wonderful words of encouragement, my friends (and thanks for the sweet phone call, Samantha. you have such a cute southern accent!). I am coming to terms with knowing that I just will not be ok with what is happening TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY, and that is fine and normal. No matter how deeply I believe that everything is going to be good in the end (because I do deeply believe that), it is natural for me, the mama, to worry and to not be ok with this. It goes against human instinct to imagine handing your baby over for surgery. The anticipation is the worst part of this whole thing. Soon the surgery will be here and we can get on with it and help our man recover and things will look much brighter.

Dan sent this to me today (he receives these passages daily but today's was very fitting!):

He Delivers You From All

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).

Aren't you glad we serve a Deliverer today? An affliction is defined as the cause of persistent pain or distress. You might feel afflicted today, but God is working to bring you out of that difficult situation. It may not be in the way you thought, but you have to trust that God has your best interest at heart. I know that afflictions can take on many forms—a sickness or hardship, a temptation, a coworker or family member. There are so many things that can come against us, but God promises in His Word that no weapon formed against us shall prosper! Those afflictions are only temporary. Stand in faith believing that God is on your side. Remember, you and God are a majority. It doesn't matter what your circumstances look like, get up every morning and say, "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." As you stand and trust the Lord, He will deliver you out of all your afflictions, and you'll see His hand of blessing in every area of your life.


And then I saw this:



Warm weather! And sun!

I was looking at my calendar this morning, and tell me if you think this is as weird as I think it is?! Elijah turned 12 months old the day of the cool lunar eclipse. He turned 13 months old on the first day of spring. His surgery is on Tax Day. There will be a full moon the day he turns 14 months old. There will be a full moon the day he turns 15 months old. The day he turns 16 months old is the first day of summer.

What's with all the strangely significant days coinciding with Elijah's significant days?

Blah

I feel extra glum today. Maybe part of the reason for it is this...


Yes! More winter!

Or maybe it's because Elijah is in fact sick again. Poor kid, he has a snotty, clogged nose and he has a temp and he keeps sneezing and you can tell that he just doesn't feel well. We have been trying so hard to keep him away from germs. I guess now we will have to be in full quarantine mode because I certainly don't want to postpone surgery. Please pray for quick healing for our boy! And for sanity for us, as we will be confined to our house for the next 15 days.

As I wrote yesterday, I have been feeling pretty sad and weak lately. Something Dan and I try to do every week is take turns picking a Bible verse that we feel is appropriate for the week and talk about it. Well this week it is my turn, so I think these are the perfect verses for me (us) to ponder:

2 Corinthians 12:10
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

Isaiah 40:31
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

On another note, our insurance company decided that Elijah doesn't need his RSV shot this month, which is completely ridiculous, so we are doing what we can to get that approved. We have not been a huge fan of Health Partners since we switched over this year. What? You want to keep your baby from getting RSV before he has open heart surgery? DENIED! That makes total sense.

One cute thing to share, since this post is filled with blah-ness. Elijah still has not said the D sound. Every day, I say to him, "Elijah, say 'Dada,'" and lately he will pause, look at me, and say, "Baba!" Then I'll say, "Ok, now say 'Mama,'" and even though he DOES know how to say the M sound, he will pause, look at me, and say, "Baba!"