 |
| The quality of the picture is poor, but what it represents is MERCY and GRACE. |
I feel a deep desire to share with our readers in a concise and authentic way all that has happened in our lives since I posted in May. I also feel a complete inadequacy to do so. It's just been so much, so overwhelming at times, so surreal a lot of the time, so many hours so full of mercy and grace from Above that it is nearly impossible to put it into words.
However, many of you have prayed for us the last weeks and we want to say THANK YOU! Many of you may not even know what has went down in our lives and have faithfully prayed for us anyway. Several sent me messages and said we were on your heart and your felt compelled to pray fervently for us. One friend, one week before great storms hit our family was awakened in the middle of the night with a vivid dream about me. She couldn't sleep so interceeded for me specifically because the dream was so real. I have found so much comfort in being reminded that my loving, gracious, merciful heavenly Father was lining up all we needed to weather the storms that in His providence saw fit to allow for our good and His glory!
I could write a book about May and June but will try to make it short. I last posted in May stating my mother in law was finally here for a much awaited visit. She barely made it to our home on Thursday, May 9th before she fell into our guest bed and did not get up for nearly a week. She wasn't in any pain but she was so incredibly weak she could barely get to the bathroom or eat without assistance. Okay, disappointing but what a rich opportunity for our family to get to serve her in her time of need.
On Saturday evening, May 11th, I was making dinner and began having what I thought was my normal stomach/intestinal issues and thought to myself, "Lord, not a good time to not feel good but okay. I will just do what I do to treat it and will wake up feeling better." I went to bed early, in pain, and woke up at 11:45pm and did not sleep again. It didn't take long to realize this was not "normal pain" and by 2:30am I had self-diagnosed myself (drs love patients that do that, by the way!) with two simple home "tests" you can do, hoping against hope I was wrong. Everson was up in an instant and took me to the ER, leaving my terrifically sick mother in law at home with the children. Blood tests, CT scan, fluids, a cocktail of pain meds that barely touched the pain, an early Mother's Day call to my surgeon and I was off to emergency surgery for acute appendicitis by 12:20pm.
My surgeon said the CT scan showed significant inflammation of my appendix. After surgery he said it was actually perforated and already oozing infection. They had originally said it might be Monday before they operated on me but for reasons they never explained to me, I was moved up to first on my surgeon's schedule that day and all I can see is God's mercy and grace over my life. I underwent laproscopic surgery which allows for a much more comfortable recovery. If the appendix bursts, they often have to make an incision from breastbone to pubic bone to clean you out. Oh, thank you Jesus!
Monday I was struggling with high white blood count due to the infection. My penicillin allergy was causing an issue and so they called in an infectious disease doctor to test to see if I could handle "cousin drugs" to penicillin. I was in the middle of giving them permission to run these tests when Everson's phone rang and Chloe was on the line crying uncontrollably. We finally figured out that MIL had fainted and our teenage daughter was able to get her off the chair safely so she didn't hit her head. She was lying on the floor, unable to get up and our poor Chloe was distraught. Everson flew home and I spent the remainder of my hospital time alone...but not alone. The Lord's presence just continued to sustain me as it had since those early morning hours on Sunday in immense pain and unable to sleep. I had always been terrified of surgery but as it became quite clear to me that was where I was headed, I was overwhelmed with a peace that divine and sufficient. I went into surgery completely calm and trusting that if i didn't ever wake up again, it would be okay.
Everson spent the week juggling taking care of me and his mother, trying to keep our kids cared for and calm. More time off work he would ill afford. I in my bed at the hospital on the phone trying to walk my children through this scary time. Mom is never the one at the hospital and Grandma's visit disappointing to the hilt. I wasn't sure if I should comfort my husband or my children or where I would find the strength to do either. I received untold phone calls, texts and one super sweet visit from friends from church that was all God's grace poured out in human form in my life those two days. I experienced His body being His hands and feet in an incredibly powerful way.
By Tuesday night I was home with sufficently lowered WBC and ready to get on with healing.
By Thursday night my brother in law was in our home, having flown all the way from his mission field in Africa to fly his mother home to Brazil. After many video phone calls from my hospital room, Everson at home and my BIL and SIL in Mozambique, we all decided it was the best plan for Wellington to come and take Rosa home. Neither Everson or I were in any way able to do that and she needed to get home in order to get the healthcare she needed. So in the middle of this storm that felt like it would never pass, we had the immense JOY of four precious days with a brother and uncle whom we love so deeply. He and his wife's selfless love and care for our family in our time of need still makes me cry. My sister in law stayed in Mozambique by herself and three young children and sent her husband to serve us for four days and take MIL safely home. Talk about God's mercy and grace. And provision after provision after provision.
After only 10 days in our home, my precious mother in law flew home on May 20th and has been slowly recovering from what doctor's believe was a severe reaction to some meds she was taking while in our home. A couple days after she arrived home, my father in law was hospitalized. It took several days for him to finally get a diagnoses and he is now home recovering slowly but surely. Wellington is safely back with his family in Africa. I have almost completely healed from surgery.
June has been full to the hilt. Noah finished 4th grade and Chloe finished 8th. God provided a wonderful little part time job for me in June helping a friend with her three boys so my kids could go with me. It was a blessing to get out of the house, for Noah to make new friends and for us to have activities to do on these long, hot summer days that did not involve screens. It is so challenging to keep two kids busy in the city in healthy ways when it is too hot to be outside and most inside activities cost a great deal of money. God has been so good. As always. More than good. Abundantly kind and generous. I cannot express how grateful I am for His mercy and grace over our family.
For now, the storms have quieted. I just read a sweet book by Paul Tripp on "Suffering." How convicting it was. My suffering is not about me at all. It's all about Him. His glory, His work in my life and not only mine but everyone around me watching my suffering. There is a greater purpose set out by a GREAT GOD who is sovereign and utterly, completely for me. His love for me is so complete and so deep that He will do what He needs to do in life to glorify His name and make me more and more into His image. Wow. If you are going through stuff, please read this book and I hope it will encourage you to live the gospel through your suffering as it has me.
My children and I leave early tomorrow morning to drive North to spend a few weeks with my family. Stay tuned for updates on how our first long road trip without daddy goes and how far mommy can make it tomorrow. 😃 It will be an adventure, for sure. Our lives always are!
Have a blessed and Christ-centered week,
Jama
No comments:
Post a Comment