Day 27 - Thankful for good health - part 2

So last night I was thinking of 1972 and tonight I am thinking about 1984.  Doug was just over 2.5 years old.  He had a rather serious urinary surgery in September of that year and the hope was the surgery would fix all of his infection problems.  But, alas, it was not to be.  Doug had an appointment at the "Urology Clinic" at Children's Memorial on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  Let me tell you that I was NOT used to driving all over Chicago and prior to this time of Doug's illness I had never driven into Chicago by myself.  But when your kid is sick, you will do whatever it takes.  This was our first visit back to see the Urologist who did the "experimental" surgery on Doug.  He was not a very personable man and rather arrogant.  As a matter of fact, when our insurance refused to cover the cost of the surgery because it was "above reasonable and customary" he told the insurance company that it was HIS procedure and how dare they tell him what it should cost.  Needless to say, we lost that battle and ended up paying for the procedure ourselves.  But I digress........ I took the day off of work to take Doug in because it was clear to us that he was indeed sick again. After driving to the hospital and waiting for 4 hours at the clinic, the doctor told me that it was impossible that he was sick and I should just take him home.  Even though he tested positive for infections.  I was so upset.  So I left Children's Memorial and started home.  Only to discover that the tollway was under construction and it was the busiest day for travel.  And the detour I needed to take was........get this......through O'Hare airport (on the busiest day for travel).  So I spent 4 hours on the lovely tollways around Chicago with a sick, crying child in a car seat.  Somewhere around hour 3, I began to cry.  I was so glad to finally arrive home.  A call to our local doctor (who had the test results) resulted in his urging for us to bring Doug to the local hospital for treatment.  At that point, it was clear Doug and I both just needed to be home (at least long enough to stop crying).  However he had a big heart and told us to stay home in the morning, eat some turkey, and to go to the hospital in the afternoon.  So that's what we did.  I was just so thankful to be close to home.  To be in a hospital that I knew well, and to have a Doctor that seemed to really care about Doug. 

(This picture was actually taken at Christmas of 1984.  Look carefully and you will see the IV dripping into Doug's arm (hanging from our Pole Lamp! We willing gave him cheese puffs because he would sit still for the entire time his medicine was running!)  Doug was in the hospital from Thanksgiving until Christmas.  And that same doctor made a way for us to do an IV at home so Doug could get his medicine and we could be home for Christmas.  This was amazing for 1984 - they just didn't do that.  Jesus provided a way for us)
So, once again today, I am so thankful for Doug's wonderful health now as an adult. Thinking back on these days brings it all back to me and I just feel waves of gratefulness. Most people do not really know all of Doug's health history and only a few have heard this story. For me this was sort of a turning point when I discovered that, as a mom I really knew my child better than any doctor or hospital could. It's that "mother's intuition" that is really the Holy Spirit!

So tonight I am celebrating and thanking Jesus for the miracle of my wonderful all grown up healthy adult son! Yes, we have lots to be thankful for!

Jesus, thank you for your protection and your guidance during those very hard years.  Thank you for the plans and purpose you have for Doug and the destiny that you are working out for him.  Holy Spirit, thank you for hearing my heart's cry for Doug in those years.  Thank you Yahweh our healer for the miracle of health for Doug!  Amen

Abide in Him

Yesterday was one of those days that cause me to sit back and think, "wow - did that really just happen to me?"

 A little bit of a back story...... I have been a part of a ministry called Cyrus Ministry International since 1991.  The founders and directors of this ministry have literally traveled all over the world, sharing the message of Jesus.   In 2004 I was able to go with them to Kenya and Uganda.  It was a life changing experience for me in many ways.  A little over a year after returning from this trip, I received a phone call from Lucy, a women I met in Kenya.  She had been my translator as I ministered to several large groups of children at her church.  I hadn't realized it at the time, but the fact that she was there, was amazing.  Lucy was in fact a rather, well known radio DJ and a favorite among the people. She was not normally someone who would be doing translations.   Only Yahweh could have caused our paths to cross.   The phone call  was to announce that she was in Atlanta, GA and had just had a baby girl.  This baby was a miracle!  While we were in Kenya, my friends and I had prayed for her to be able to concieve a baby.  She and her husband had been trying to expand their family for more than 7 years. Yahweh heard our cry and here was little "Hope-Lyn", born in September of 2005.   I was touched and amazed that she and Lameck, her husband, choose to name that miracle after me.  Lucy said that my words from Yahweh gave her the ability to hope and believe that she would have a child and then there was Hope-Lyn.  Even as I write these words, it seems incredible that something like this would happen to me.   And  as I was soaking in the miracle, Yahweh spoke clearly to me ....... HOPE, LYN!   Not many people know, but during this same time frame, my daughter and son-in-law were trying to start their family.  And it had been many months.  While I was outwardly not very concerned, my prayers had been, "Please Lord".  And that day, I heard so clearly that I needed to HOPE - and not despair. The very next week, my daughter found out that she was pregnant with my sweet little Lia.   I went to Atlanta to be with Lucy and meet Hope-Lyn as she was dedicated to Yahweh.  And Lucy, Lameck and Hope-Lyn visited with us in 2007.  Both Lucy and I know that Yahweh has a much greater purpose for our connection than we are seeing in the natural. 

Which brings me to yesterday....  My cell phone rang with an international number.  I answered and was greeted by an amazing 7 1/2 year old  Hope-Lyn!  She wanted to sing to me (which brought me to tears) to recite a memory verse (actually verses -John 15:1-10 - in English) and to pray for me.  Yesterday morning, before this phone call, I was singing the song "You are the Vine and We are the branches".  Apparently Hope-Lyn heard the same thing from Yahweh, because that was the idea of her song also!  And that song is from those very verses in John.  Isn't Yahweh just so great!  I am so blessed and so thankful to know that around the world, in Kenya, I have friends - both young and old- who are thinking of me and praying for me.  

I can't help but think that these two amazing 7 year olds have not met by accident.  Yahweh has a divine plan and purpose for their lives that will be wonderful to watch unfold.   And Lucy is now an ordained evangelist. She has a very large ministry, Prayers Beyond Boundries, based in Kenya.  Her ministry includes an orphange that serves over 75 children. Take a look at her facebook page - Evangelist Lucy Wa Ngunjiri (Official).

And, yes, I am spending some time meditating on what it means to "Abide in Him".