“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
What a strange mixture of emotions we experience as we walk through this with Ian! Hope for heaven and the joy of having a Savior anchor our souls, while the storm of sadness relentlessly continues. “When sorrows like sea billows roll…” Thank God there is a day coming when there will be no more pain or crying or mourning!
Ian seems to be making some serious headway with his balance in sitting. With help, he gets to his “balance point” quickly and is able to maintain it. Not much has happened over the past few days apart from that. We look forward to learning of ways that he can communicate with us. Please pray for wisdom as we try various ways to enable Ian to communicate. Pray for grace for Ian to keep working.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…”
James 1:2
I remember one time Ian and I went for a run around Indiana. After we got back I collapsed on the floor thinking that I was going to die. Ian reassured me that the awful cramps in my gut were normal and it was just called being out of shape. We ended up sitting there for a long time, and somehow ended up in a deep conversation. I distinctly remember Ian saying that he had lived a very easy life. He’d never had any trials and never struggled through anything.
I remember another conversation in my apartment and we were talking about James 1:2. Neither of us had any idea what suffering or trials were or what was waiting for us on September 30, but we agreed that we always wanted to count it all joy. The biggest trial we’d had was learning how to trust God for provision for our summer internships. That would seem like the easist thing to trust God in now.
I don’t know what it looks like to always count it all joy. And I have no idea how Ian is doing in this area either. But I do know that Jesus died for both of us and that my joy will only be full when my joy is found in Him. Lord please help us to count it all joy and help us to do what seems the impossible- to be glad that we are in this affliction
Please keep praying for Ian. We now are working on different ways to communicate with him. Pray that God would give us grace and patience to wait on Him.
Ian seems to be on the mend; he seems to be growing stronger. He had different people in today continuing to work with him who said he did well for them. This morning he looked right at me which is not a common occurrence these days (it takes my breath away for just a moment when he does it).
Tonight, we were sitting him up working on “trunk control,” and he seemed to be working out. That’s the only explanation we had for the way he was behaving. He would lean forward from a sitting position, hold himself there, then bring himself back up to an upright position. He would hold himself there for a while, then he would lean forward again and do it all over. We’re also noticing that he keeps his balance much better side-to-side.
Every day, we wake up, because God shows us mercy. Every day, I arrive home from work safe, because God shows me mercy. Most importantly, God has shown mercy to me and to Ian sparing us from an eternity of punishment. I have to keep reminding myself over and over of these most important truths when the progress seems slow. Help me, Lord, to be patient and to be grateful.
Sorry for the lack of posts this week everyone! No major changes in the past few days. Ian seems to be feeling a little bit better but he’s been pretty sleepy. If his throat hurts though, it’s best that he sleeps. Pain doesn’t follow him when he’s asleep.
We’re getting closer to Sept. 30- almost one year since Ian’s accident. I don’t want to give up hope that God can still completely heal him. Please keep praying that he comes back….
Ian slept most of the day today after church. But, it’s Sunday, and we’re supposed to nap on Sundays!
We miss him like crazy. Please keep praying.
“Teach us to place our happiness in thee, the blessed God, never seeking life among the dead things of earth, or asking for that which satisfies the deluded, But may we prize the light of thy smile, implore the joy of thy salvation, find our heaven in thee. Thou has attended to our happiness more than we can do.” Valley of Vision
Recently, I was reminded again of the fact that God doesn’t change. Just because I can’t see the good that God is doing through all of this with Ian doesn’t mean He isn’t good. Like a rock, he doesn’t change with the seasons or the circumstances. He is and always has been what He declares about Himself in His Word. He is good. He is kind. He is all-powerful. He rules all things. Like snow on rocks in the winter, challenging circumstances can obscure my view of him. If I’m not careful, circumstances can even deface my view of him. I must choose to believe God is doing good even if I don’t see it.
Ian seems to be sleeping off his illnesses. He has slept peacefully for hours this evening. We decided not to do anything more with him tonight, because he is sleeping so peacefully and soundly.
Ian hasn’t been feeling well the last few days. Between the thrush in his mouth and another internal infection, he sleeps a lot and isn’t in very good shape for therapy. Please pray…
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live Psalm 63
Lord, help us to believe this. In times of deepest doubt and sadness Let us beleive that your steadfast love is better than life, help our lips to praise your name. When we are more aware of our suffering than our salvation Help us to fix our eyes on calvary .
Ian is still struggling with a sore throat from the thrush. When his throat is sore, he shuts down a lot. He barely communicated with any of us today. Please pray that it would go away. Remember how much we prayed for his eyes? All the infections that he fought through and all of the medications and eye patches? The doctor told us last week that his eyes are perfect. The Lord can completely heal his throat too. Please keep praying.
Sometimes I forget the awesome, wondrous, breathtaking, things that the Lord has done for Ian. Psalm 111 freshly reminded me that God has done great things:
Psalm 111:2-4, 7
“Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful… The works of his hands are faithful and just…”
God’s saving Ian’s life last September is an awesome work! No less majestic that his work at the Red Sea, no less glorious than his raising of Lazarus from the dead. Ian should have died on impact, there’s no reason he should have lived. But he survived the crash. “Great are the works of the Lord”. Ian should have died on the life-flight to Pittsburgh. But God kept his heart beating, his lungs breathing. “Full of splendor and majesty is His work”. Ian should have died in the ICU. His brain was dying, the doctors told us that brain death was imminent, the funeral home had been called. But overnight, things changed, brain death was no longer imminent, he’d “somehow” made it over the hump. Ian should be dead, there’s no question about that. But God saved him. “He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful…”
So often I forget these majestic works of the Lord, full of splendor, that I have seen with my own eyes. Sometimes I forget that Ian should have died, that death was coming upon him like the Egyptians came upon the Israelites at the Red Sea. And when I forget the awesome deeds that the Lord has worked on Ian’s behalf, I despair. Why, because if it wasn’t God who saved Ian, then there’s no reason to think that God will continue the good work he began. If Ian just happened to live, than our only hope for the future is the chance that Ian might just happen to fully recover.
Oh, the hope that remembering the works of the Lord brings! I love how Charles Spurgeon puts it:
“I like to think of every blessing of grace that I have recieved as coming from God because each mercy then becomes prophetic of more. God is unchangeable, and therefore what He has given He will give again. The stream that has begun to flow will never cease flowing. The more the Lord gives, the more we may expect. Each mercy as it comes makes room for another larger than itself, even as the narrow end of the wedge opens the way for its wider portion. John Bunyan said that God’s flowers bloom double: not only do they bloom double, but they bloom sevenfold. Therefore be encouraged. The least of the things that are freely given to us by God draws behind it an endless chain of more than golden links of love.”
God has done awesome deeds on Ian’s behalf, things are full of splendor and majesty on Ian’s behalf. And these past deeds are only the light along the horizon of the coming dawn.
