Storm Ahead – A Testimony of Faith and Trust in God

Last Sunday, March 16th, we were at Sam’s with the kids shopping. Abigail was not feeling well and therefore was lying down in the main part of the shopping cart. While Rachel and I were getting some drinks off a shelf, Abigail stood up in the cart, lost her balance, fell backward out of the shopping cart and landed squarely on her head and back. I saw it happen in what feels like slow motion and still shutter at the sound her head made against the concrete floor – ‘BAM!’ You could tell immediately that she had some type of concussion. She was bleeding from her nose and even threw up blood in the car while we rushed her to the hospital ER. She was very slow in response during her examination. They put Abigail in a neck collar and also did a CT scan and took x-rays of her neck, back and chest to see if anything was broken. The x-rays showed nothing in her neck or back was broken, but the CT scan showed that she had suffered a temporal skull fracture behind her right ear. She was blessed to not have any brain swelling or damage. We were transported by ambulance to Children’s Medical Center for continued examination and observation since Children’s has a pediatric neurology department. After several hours in the critical care room, we were moved to a room where we spent Sunday night and Monday night watching Abigail get no sleep, having a hard time focusing and throwing up as a result of the concussion and fracture. We were not getting many answers from the doctors as to what the next steps were going to be…were they going to do more scans and tests or just keep her for observations. At one point we were even told that they could not find the original CT scan from the other hospital. Rachel and I were confused and frustrated with where things stood. Fortunately, we were surrounded by our family, friends and church that provided a great comfort and support. Tuesday morning came and we were finally taken for another CT scan which also revealed the skull fracture but also showed some blood behind her ear canal. We were then told that Abigail would remain in the hospital until she was able to eat and drink without throwing up and also be up and active. I share all this detail in order to show how God worked within Rachel and I during this time. There were several moments during these days that showed us how much we need to and do trust in God to take care of everything in our lives. He wants us to have faith in Him that he is taking care of every detail and that we are truly in His hands. One moment Rachel had was when Abigail was getting her initial x-rays at the ER. She clearly felt God tell her to trust Him and that Abigail was His child and that He would take care of her. Rachel said she realized she had to let go and truly put Abigail in His hands and it brought a tremendous comfort to her to know He was in control. Another moment was when Abigail was being transported by ambulance to the other hospital. I was following in our car and I was overcome with thoughts of what could have happened: What could have happened to her neck and back when I picked her up off the floor, What could have happened if there was brain swelling, etc. God immediately erased my questioning by telling me “but none of those things happened and I am taking care of her.” There were several of these types of moments. On Tuesday, it was pouring rain. I had gone home to get a few things for us and the rain was coming down hard, the streets in our neighborhood were flooding and the local golf course was completely under water from flooding of the creek that runs through it. It was a great representation of the storm Rachel and I were going through at the hospital and reminded me of two of my favorite songs that I have come to lean on during difficult times:

Casting Crowns - "Praise You In This Storm"

I was sure by now

God You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

And every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry to you

And you raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth


Mercy Me - "Bring The Rain"

I can count a million times

People asking me how I

Can praise You with all that I've gone through

The question just amazes me

Can circumstances possibly

Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed

Long before these rainy days

It's never really ever crossed my mind

To turn my back on you, oh Lord

My only shelter from the storm

But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace

Bring the chance to be free

Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there'll be days

When this life brings me pain

But if that's what it takes to praise You

Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of

The dark clouds that may loom above

Because You are much greater than my pain

You who made a way for me

By suffering Your destiny

So tell me what's a little rain

So I pray

Holy, holy, holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Tuesday night rolls around and Abigail had spent most of the day with covers over her head because lights hurt her head too much. We are eating dinner when Abigail asks if she can have some chips (first time since we were in hospital she showed any interest in food). She even wants to watch some TV, so I put on Ratatouille. To this point, Abigail has hardly talked since being in the hospital. Out of the blue, she perks up and says while watching the movie “hey, this is the part where they make the omelet and they try and toss it and it goes out the window” and she starts laughing. Rachel and I look at each other and then look at her. A glimpse of our Abigail was back. She spent the rest of the night talking and being active and ate some more. We knew at that point, she had made it through her own storm and was on her way to recovery. We were cleared to go home on Wednesday evening and she continues to get better each day. She has to be very careful not to hit her head for the next month or there is a very good chance we would need to go back to the hospital. We also have to be cautious of meningitis since her fracture has tiny air passages through it and is susceptible to the virus. We will see an ear specialist in a month to see if there was any long term damage to her ear since the impact was so close to it. We praise God for everything he has done for Abigail and us. We thank everyone who has prayed and supported us during this time. It has been a great testimony of how God is in complete control and how we need to surrender to Him on everything and have faith that he will take care of us.

Tidbits

When Rachel picked the kids up at school the other day, Ethan's teacher told her that when she informed the class that one of their classmates went home sick, Ethan said that they should pray for her. Right then he put his hands together, closed his eyes and prayed for his classmate. His teacher said he was very heartfelt in his words.

Whenever one of the kids gets individual time with either mom or dad, they call it their "Special Special." Yesterday, Caleb woke up sick and needed to go to the doctor (sinus infection). This meant he would not be able to participate at the Easter egg hunt at his school. When Rachel dropped Abigail and Ethan off at school, Caleb tells her "I want to be able to do the Easter egg hunt.....but wait, this means that I get Special Special with you momma." They got to have a morning of being just him and mom (and I got to have lunch with them as well). We cherish those moments because it is difficult to plan individual time with each of them.

Rachel calls me this morning as she is headed to the zoo with the kids. She says that as she was driving, she looked up in the rear view mirror at the kids and noticed that Abigail had her head down, hands together and was praying. Abigail did not know mom was watching and no one had asked her to pray about anything at the time. She just decided on her own to pray about something. Rachel doesn't know exactly what she prayed for, but she said it was an awesome feeling to see her doing that and hearing Abigail say "Amen" when she was done.

Go Wash Your Hands, Please

We are sitting down for dinner last night and noticed that Caleb had not washed his hands yet. They were especially dirty this time because we had just gotten back from riding bikes and playing a lot outside. Rachel wanted to make sure he got his hands really clean, so as he is trotting of to the bathroom, she tells him "why don't you sing the Happy Birthday song while you are washing your hands. When you finish the song, you can then stop and dry them off." Caleb expresses great interest in this. I look over at Rachel and ask where the heck she came up with that one in which she responds that she just came up with it. She has a great bag of mom tricks to get the kids to do things and it impresses me how she uses them at just the right time. Well, as we are talking, we hear the sweet sound of Caleb singing and water running from across the house "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday dear........Jesus!, Happy Birthday to you." I got a kick out of that. Caleb returns to the dinner table with clean hands and ready for dinner. (and yes, Jesus had a great birthday).

Weather Forecast Calls for Cloudy Windows

Ethan was the first one up this morning and when he got downstairs he told Rachel, "the clouds are covering my windows so much that I can't see out." Rachel laughs and tells Ethan he is so silly. "But mom, I am serious, the clouds are covering my windows." After everyone was up and they were eating breakfast, Rachel goes to open the blinds in the kitchen and notices the dense fog. She starts laughing and Ethan gladly gloats "see, I told you the clouds were covering the windows."

It's Great to Be a Kid!

This past Friday, I took the day off from work and had a day out with the kids. Rachel was at a women's retreat, so it was just us. I left the adult world for awhile and these are some of the memories I brought back: Radio Disney, gumballs, Happy Meals, juicebox, movie theater popcorn, Veggietales and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, Dollar Tree toys, macaroni and cheese, pizza, Barbie Mariposa and The Little Einsteins Firebird Rescue.

We had a blast together, but I made sure to finish the night off by watching The Bourne Ultimatum after they went to bed to bring me back to 'reality'.

Where is Shakey Bear?

The kids and I were on a mission to find some goggles for swimming at our gym Saturday when I heard a question from Abigail that froze me in my tracks inside of Walmart. With trembling in her voice she said, "Dad, where is Shakey Bear?" (Shakey Bear is the one stuffed animal of Abigail's that has been there for her her entire life. It is a small pink bear that rattles that has been washed, mended, hugged, kissed, toted on road trips and prayed for. You parents know, your child has something like this.) Therefore, everything in the world stopped, goggles were no longer important and me and my great team of detectives, Caleb and Ethan, were on a new mission. Of course, it couldn't have happened when we first entered the store. That would have been too easy. We had already been in Walmart for awhile and had made a pretty good route for us to back track. So as we proceeded in reverse mode through the store, my mind was running on how Abigail's world would not be the same without Shakey Bear. I think I was more concerned and affected by it than her as she was seeing it as some great adventure. "We're off to find Shakey Bear!" After a few minutes, which was too long for me, we rounded a corner aisle and there it was, lying on the floor in front of the night lights. Abigail swooped in rescuing Shakey Bear from her impending doom of the two adults standing there beside it, surely waiting to claim her as their own. Life was once again in balance. Now, kids, off to get those goggles.

Tattoo You

As many of you know (and maybe some of you don't), I have a tattoo on my back right shoulder that is the state of Texas with the Longhorn emblem on it. The kids have always noticed it but never really asked about it. Then this past weekend while we were driving around in the car, it finally happened. I have no idea what made Ethan think about it, but the sequence of questions came at rapid fire. "Dad, why do you have your tattoo?" (because I am proud to be from Texas and I am fanatical Longhorn fan). "Dad, where did you get the tattoo?" (when I was in Austin). "Dad, when did you get the tattoo?" (when your mom and I were on one of our first dates). As I meticulously answered each of the questions with the somewhat rehearsed answer (I knew it would come up sometime in their lives) I was hit with the comment that I was not quite prepared for from my five year old. "Dad, I think I would want to get a tattoo someday." This followed up by both Caleb and Abigail throwing in their vote to get tattoos as well. As I worked to dissuade them, they used the "but you have one, dad" card on me in which of course I had to rebuttal with "that does not necessarily make it right for you." The discussion led us to the difference between temporary and permanent tattoos and why did mine not ever wash off when their Thomas the Train and Princess tattoos wash off in the bath. Of course I was able to get in the great dad advise that no matter how old they are, that they should ask their mom and dad before they make any kind of major decision about something like this. Fortunately for me, Radio Disney was on and Hannah Montana came in over the airwaves to save me as the kids attention was diverted to singing "You Get The Best of Both Worlds". Thank you Hannah, maybe they won't remember to bring the discussion up again until after college.

Snow Day

I write this as a survivor and witness of "Arctic Blast 2008". As several eyewitnesses on the news last night stated, we were dealing with treacherous and brutally cold weather that made travelling conditions fearful because of the blizzard. Ok, ok, ok, so it was only about 32 degrees with snow flurries and an inch or two of snow on the ground. It cracks me up to watch people being interviewed on TV. I am sure those that live in Colorado or in the upper states just laugh at Texans when something like this happens. Well, at least the snow stuck to the ground and gave the kids a nice surprise this morning when they got up. Here are a few pics from their "snow day".