You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.
[Psalm 65:5-8]
And yet in the shouts of joy...we stand in awe, as God continues to move mountains!
As we walked into the Cardiac ICU this morning - after a great night of rest - we were amazed that Jackson was off all IV meds. His Arterial/A-line and IJ (Inter-Jugular) line were removed, and the team was in the process of "de-ICUing" Jackson - with the hopes to move him up to the Cardiac floor later tonight. He was resting comfortably at our moment of entrance...but soon reminded all of us of the extreme pain he is experiencing as he woke mad as a hornet! After many anxious minutes...that seemed like hours...he calmed down with the reminder that a growing boy wants to eat! This was a huge hurdle to jump - as there can be many struggles with feedings following a surgery of this caliber. But not our Jackson...he downed 4oz of pedialite in just minutes!
After a 2hr nap...and continued "de-ICUing"...again the little man woke - this time...as mad as a whole nest of hornets with someone poking it with a stick! He was not frustrated...he was down right angry! And this time - comfort was found in mommy's arms! It had been more than 24 hours since we were able to hold our little miracle baby, and it was a sweet reunion!
4oz of pedialite did not cut it for our little big man - as he downed 6oz of pedialite in 20 minutes! This demonstrated - not just to mommy and daddy, but to the entire team - that he was ready for the good stuff...and so "Good Start" was ordered!
After an amazing morning of progress...the "shock and awe" came when the plan to possibly transition to the Cardiac floor was "moved up"! The CICU and CT (Cardiothoracic) team declared him ready...and the prep was on! As they packed his room, prepped him for transport...Kelly and I were overun with emotion and anxiety! We were prepared for at least 3 days or a weekend in the ICU - not 26 hours! But when God moves - HE moves! And He gave us the Grace, Strength and Courage to take this step through our hesitation, and trust beyond what we could see or imagine!
Truly - it was like the wedding day! You know - the one you spent months planning and preparing. The countless hours invested for "the day"! And all of a sudden the day happens in all its glory, and somehow - so quickly - it turns into the "day after"! This is why the greatest counsel we received during our engagement was to always remember..."you are not preparing for a wedding! You are planning for marriage!"
In the midst of the miracles - it is so easy to get caught up in the emotion of it all - and lose our focus! Our focus must not be on the circumstances, expectations, unknowns, or uncertainties - but rather on the One who is always in our midst - our Great Redeemer and Restorer!
And as Kelly and I prepared to move out of the ICU...this was the story of miraculous healing that was laid on our hearts:
When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” [Mark 2: 1-12, NLT]
"We've never seen anything like this before!" is a response that we have heard time and time again in the last nine months of this journey - especially in the wake of his Fetal Aortic Balloon Valvioplasty surgery, his miraculous recovery with the Norwood surgery, and now again setting a new standard with the Glenn! There is no doubt that God's Hand of miraculous healing is upon Jackson...just as it was upon the paralyzed man who jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers!
However - there is a part of the story that I would love to know! What about the day after...when the homeowner looked up to wonder why he was feeling the rain inside his living room. I'd love to know his emotion and response when the aftermath of the miracle dripped on his dead! Or the response from down the hall when he yelled to his wife..."there is a hole in our roof"!
The last two days have been AWESOME! However - the last 36 hours have been full of emotion, including ones we never knew before! From fear to joy! Difficulty to calm! Unknown to peace! Uncertainty to clarity! Shaken to rest! And tonight...as we sit in the stillness and the silence of a familiar place - we realize the hole in our roof...and trust that in this too - God will provide our every need! He has taught us, stretched us, pushed us, pulled us to places we never knew possible...but then again - He has been turing the impossible into reality since the dawn of Creation!
Tonight...we are tired! We are worn out! We are whooped! Our feet, minds and bodies are sore...but our hearts are full! Full of His Love, Joy, Peace and Strength! We still "feel" like tattered sails...but somehow He continues to move us beyond what our bodies can feel to places our eyes can't see! He is Awesome! He is Faithful! He is Love! And in Him...there is Peace and Rest!
All Eyes on Jesus!
Here are some picture moments of our last 36 hours:
As we walked into the Cardiac ICU this morning - after a great night of rest - we were amazed that Jackson was off all IV meds. His Arterial/A-line and IJ (Inter-Jugular) line were removed, and the team was in the process of "de-ICUing" Jackson - with the hopes to move him up to the Cardiac floor later tonight. He was resting comfortably at our moment of entrance...but soon reminded all of us of the extreme pain he is experiencing as he woke mad as a hornet! After many anxious minutes...that seemed like hours...he calmed down with the reminder that a growing boy wants to eat! This was a huge hurdle to jump - as there can be many struggles with feedings following a surgery of this caliber. But not our Jackson...he downed 4oz of pedialite in just minutes!
After a 2hr nap...and continued "de-ICUing"...again the little man woke - this time...as mad as a whole nest of hornets with someone poking it with a stick! He was not frustrated...he was down right angry! And this time - comfort was found in mommy's arms! It had been more than 24 hours since we were able to hold our little miracle baby, and it was a sweet reunion!
4oz of pedialite did not cut it for our little big man - as he downed 6oz of pedialite in 20 minutes! This demonstrated - not just to mommy and daddy, but to the entire team - that he was ready for the good stuff...and so "Good Start" was ordered!
After an amazing morning of progress...the "shock and awe" came when the plan to possibly transition to the Cardiac floor was "moved up"! The CICU and CT (Cardiothoracic) team declared him ready...and the prep was on! As they packed his room, prepped him for transport...Kelly and I were overun with emotion and anxiety! We were prepared for at least 3 days or a weekend in the ICU - not 26 hours! But when God moves - HE moves! And He gave us the Grace, Strength and Courage to take this step through our hesitation, and trust beyond what we could see or imagine!
Truly - it was like the wedding day! You know - the one you spent months planning and preparing. The countless hours invested for "the day"! And all of a sudden the day happens in all its glory, and somehow - so quickly - it turns into the "day after"! This is why the greatest counsel we received during our engagement was to always remember..."you are not preparing for a wedding! You are planning for marriage!"
In the midst of the miracles - it is so easy to get caught up in the emotion of it all - and lose our focus! Our focus must not be on the circumstances, expectations, unknowns, or uncertainties - but rather on the One who is always in our midst - our Great Redeemer and Restorer!
And as Kelly and I prepared to move out of the ICU...this was the story of miraculous healing that was laid on our hearts:
When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” [Mark 2: 1-12, NLT]
"We've never seen anything like this before!" is a response that we have heard time and time again in the last nine months of this journey - especially in the wake of his Fetal Aortic Balloon Valvioplasty surgery, his miraculous recovery with the Norwood surgery, and now again setting a new standard with the Glenn! There is no doubt that God's Hand of miraculous healing is upon Jackson...just as it was upon the paralyzed man who jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers!
However - there is a part of the story that I would love to know! What about the day after...when the homeowner looked up to wonder why he was feeling the rain inside his living room. I'd love to know his emotion and response when the aftermath of the miracle dripped on his dead! Or the response from down the hall when he yelled to his wife..."there is a hole in our roof"!
The last two days have been AWESOME! However - the last 36 hours have been full of emotion, including ones we never knew before! From fear to joy! Difficulty to calm! Unknown to peace! Uncertainty to clarity! Shaken to rest! And tonight...as we sit in the stillness and the silence of a familiar place - we realize the hole in our roof...and trust that in this too - God will provide our every need! He has taught us, stretched us, pushed us, pulled us to places we never knew possible...but then again - He has been turing the impossible into reality since the dawn of Creation!
Tonight...we are tired! We are worn out! We are whooped! Our feet, minds and bodies are sore...but our hearts are full! Full of His Love, Joy, Peace and Strength! We still "feel" like tattered sails...but somehow He continues to move us beyond what our bodies can feel to places our eyes can't see! He is Awesome! He is Faithful! He is Love! And in Him...there is Peace and Rest!
All Eyes on Jesus!
Here are some picture moments of our last 36 hours:
{The Calm before the Storm}
{What are they doing to me mom?}
{The Hallelujah Moment}
{No mask could ever hide the beauty of a miracle}
{This warrior has gone to battle!}
{These two have been through a lot over the last year}
{A mommy's vigil}
{Victory!}
1 comment:
I'm having difficulty seeing well enough to write to you.....through the tears. Tears of joy & overwhelming awe of the greatness of our Lord. God bless you all!
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