There has been allot going on and I have little time as it is late so here are the bullet points.
- We have a born again, God Fearin' Bible living Neurologist on the team! So:
- Rachael gets an EEG Wed (Aug 31).
- Thursday she gets an MRI for both her brain and for the pump catheter entry point.
- The headaches from the leak stopped 2 days ago. Until today she has been more comfortable.
- Today she was not in a great mood at all. She was groggy, had some real tough times with contractions and could not communicate well.
- We found that she has a fever of 99 and has some sensitivity around the PEG tube entry point.
- We are waiting until tomorrow to see if the fever remains.
- She is doing some neat things physically. She has been turning her head to the left and holding it there for extended periods. She is also able to push back and arch her back well. She is stretching her legs some.
- We played hookey from church on Sunday and lounged about. Saturday was a very hard day for Rachael and us. On Sunday night we all went out to eat at Applebees with gift certificates we got from the families at school last year. First time dining out with Rachael since January!
Nancy and I have been digging into Ecclesiastes and have been having some real fun reading it. Sometimes it takes a Harem to make a man realize how good one Godly wife is! Today, Oswald Chambers reminded us that we need to stay in the light as we continue on this journey with Rachael. We have had some deep talks as of late regarding man's intervention in life and death matters, questioning why it all has to be so hard. Tough stuff. We know that no matter what, we need to look to our Lord, our Savior who reached down into this fallen mire and offers to pluck us out of the enemies grip.
We know that
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (1 Co 10:12–13). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
and there is the temptation to doubt, to see only the worst, to give up, to be angry, so many things. Yet, through all of this our Lord has given us a way out. His Word! It is living and active and sharper than a two edged sword or a scalpel. It cuts and cuts deep to carve us into the likeness that Christ desires for us. The more we move onward in this journey, the more we realize that all is vanity and chasing after the wind. All that matters is that solid relationship with our Lord Jesus. Not just knowing about Him or believing that He was what He said He was, but letting Him lead our lives. Submitting to God and getting out of the way of what He has going in our lives.
If I look at what we are getting out of this spiritually or what Rachael is getting out of this or what effort we have to extend or what trials Rachael has to go through, we are missing the mark. It is not about Rachael. Not about Nancy, Not about Daniel or Hanna or all of you and what any one of us is getting out of this trial turned blessings. It is not about US. It is all about Jesus Christ. Keeping that focus in sight and losing any glance in the mirror, any self edification, permits the joy of our Lord to work through us. Deny yourself. How many times do we have to hear this? Check out the Christian Living section and see how many books about You and Your well being there are. It is all vanity, soap bubbles, here today and gone. Truly it is only about Him! What a great abandonment is offered us by His blood!
Please pray that the MRI blows the doctors minds! That the EEG is unexplainable and that the leak just seemed to heal 'on its own'. We need a good day of witnessing! Pray that her fever is nothing or better yet that we remain tight to the light to be given discernment on what to do.
6 comments:
preach it! thank you for sharing your story as it is an encouragement to others!
Amen!!! Praise God prayer does work. I look forwortd seeing you on Friday. I will pray pray pray hard and pass the word. God Bless
Wow! Wow! Wow! That was amazing.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Your family is setting a wonderful example for the rest of us. We will never know the value of your family's suffering until we enter heaven and hear how much you helped Jesus save souls by obeying His Will and joining your sacrifice to His. As St. Paul tells, you are completing the sufferings of Christ.
One of our saints tells us that the good angels are jealous of two realities we humans have and they don't and one of them is the ability we have to suffer for Jesus. You are chosen souls and He has to be pleased with your faithfulness. May God continue to bless you and to give you encouragement all the days of your lives.
Burt, Nancy and Rachael,
You are so precious to all of us, yet infinitely so to our matchless God and King.
Rachael, Rejoice in Him always, and again I say rejoice! Most of all, I want to thank you for, in every passing moment, being exactly where our Lord wants you to be.
Continue to draw near to God, keeping your mind stayed on Him.
Burt and Nancy, I continue to marvel at the depths and riches of God's grace outpoured to you, demonstrated in your faithfulness through your brokenness and weakness, yet always, continually, pointing everyone to the cross of Christ, our most merciful, loving, and gracious sovereign Lord : "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2Cor.12:9a ESV-- read 9b and 10, too). "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Ps.34:18 ESV)."The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Ps.51:17 ESV). "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place,and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly,and to revive the heart of the contrite."(Isa.57:15 ESV). "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal.6:14 ESV).
With the reading of every blog, I thank you, Holy Spirit, for continually challenging me, inspiring me, instructing me, admonishing me, convicting me, reproving me, humbling me, and most of all for compelling me to the utmost in gratefulness to my King and my Redeemer, the Lamb slain for my trangressions, King Jesus, to whom alone is worthy of all praise, honor, glory, and every "stitch" of our lives !
Yes God is the center of all their relationships and it shows. Greg Rachael's dad was a Godly man and dad and it showed in more ways than one. He ios smiling down on his family You good and faithly servants and family I thank God I left a His lagacy with you all. Please Pray that this passes God bless see you Friday.
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