The Rest of the Story: The Longest Year, Part 2
When I left off, it was the end of December and things were going alright. I say alright because even though Brent's leg seemed to show some improvement, a new development was happening in our family. We made the decision that our oldest child needed be in a different place for awhile. God opened a place that was available on the exact day that we needed it. The place is Christian-based, which was extremely important to us. God also provided everything we needed for Ben to live there.
We also learned of an adoption/foster support group that had started at a local church. We were so excited. The girls loved going and meeting new friends. We were also enjoying new friendships. It just so happened that the couple who started the group also owned a foot clinic. He was surgeon. Brent was explaining the whole ordeal to Craig one night after the meeting. A few days later Craig saw Brent and determined (naturally) that Brent needed another surgery. Only this time on his ankle. You know the song, "the thigh bone's connected to knee bone, the knee bone's connected to the shin bone, the shin bone's connect to the ankle bone..." It's all true. If one part of your body is out of whack, it affects the other parts of your body. Brent had a block in his ankle making it impossible to bend his ankle correctly, along with several bone spurs and his achilles tendon needed to be reattached. All of this affected how he walked and his knee. (remember when I said he couldn't put his ankle on the floor, well this is the answer) April 21st was the surgery and ta-da! Brent has a bionic ankle. No more MRI's for him. He spent six more weeks in boot. Now here is the crazy part, as soon as Brent came out of the boot and put the tiniest bit of weight on his ankle for the first time in forever.....a bone in the side of his foot broke! I can't make this stuff up! Back to the boot for another six weeks. This isn't ideal when summer is coming and you have 2 youth camps, a mission trip, and family vacation planned. It really isn't ideal when you see the light at the end of the tunnel and then BAM! it closes.
Summer in a boot was not fun. He did use the wheelchair for one summer camp. This was a life-saver.
Brent was out of the boot by our vacation. He did use a brace a certain times. He continued therapy. There was improvement, just that it was not "as good as new" as we were hoping. He limps/drags his leg along sometimes and his muscles draw up if he sits longer than five minutes, so he usually has to stretch when he stands. He is trying some massage therapy now. His muscles are still not as strong as they used to be and it can still be painful at times. It's a work in progress.
How does this all tie in to my post about Oceans? I showed that to Brent and looked at me and said "so it's all your fault!" HAHA! Not really, but God certainly took us in deeper waters. He was cultivating faith in my soul. And doing some things in Brent too. We found out that God was in the mystery of the unknowns in our life. I was everything I said in that past. I didn't like what was happening. Things were not safe and okay. Where was that good that I said was God's character? I was angry. At one point I quit reading my Bible. I wasn't being strong. I told my mom that everything bad was happening - which was a lie - there are certainly people/people groups who are dealing with situations far more extreme and worse than ours and they need our help and prayers.
Some days it is easier to believe the lies than the truth. You have to choose the truth and choose stronger faith. I was not doing a good job of choosing to be strong. (I still don't choose well some days/weeks, just ask my mom about last week. It was nightmare-ish!)
One way I made it through most days was listening to my favorite CD by Rend Collective. You can find it here. The girls can sing most of the songs. I love to hear them singing. Lighthouse is their favorite. Click here to listen.
As I assume most people do, I wanted to know where was God. Well, He was actually right in the middle of our big mess. Our pastor preached a sermon once with the example of a little child being locked in the upstairs bathroom of a house and calling for help. The father hears the child's cries. He gets a ladder and crawls in the window. But instead of unlocking the door to solve the problem, he sits with the crying child. So instead God healing Brent straight up, He thought it better to sit with us.
Um, that probably seems mean. Why not just open the door and fix the problem? I don't know. God has His mysteries. We have to put them in our mystery box and be content knowing that God has more understanding that we do. Isn't that why we trust Him?
Another question I had: where was the good? God's goodness to us was everywhere.
Here is some of the goodness:
I paid for every medication in cash that was given from people who wanted to help. I went to Kroger pharmacy so often, it became a joke between me and the pharmacists. One week, I went to the pharmacy 4 days in a row.
I didn't cook one meal the ENTIRE month of October. That carried over a little bit into November. Our freezer was overflowing. We had so much food given to us. *During this time, we received a meal from a youth family who was managing their own suffering of a mom with cancer. The week it came, I had been wanting some chips and salsa, but never took time to stop at the store to get it. This family sent a meal of tacos and my favorite chips and salsa. She had no idea. It was the best meal.
We have ZERO debt from the hospital stay and surgeries.
Two physical therapists and a chiropractor who went above and beyond to help Brent. Without them, I don't know where we would be.
We were apart of a church family that overflowed with love for us. They mowed our grass, got Christmas decorations down from the attic, helped with the kids when we needed it. Two or three families took responsibility for the youth fundraisers on Saturdays and the classes on church meeting days. They came to visit in the hospital and stay some during the days. A lady paid to have our house cleaned.
My mom was in a place where she could come over and be with us. Brent's dad was also able to come and stay with Brent in the hospital.
We discovered Brent had a few other health issues that needed to be addressed that we might not have known about otherwise.
One thing we learned about God's goodness is that it isn't always about happiness and flowers. That's how I determine if something is good at least, is if everything is safe, happy, and you know.... good. Romans 8:28 says: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." But have you ever read verse 29 that is very much connected to verse 28? Verse 29: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstbornamong many brothers and sisters." I underlined part of verse 29. You have to pay attention to that part "to be conformed to the image of His Son...." The good that God works in us is that that He uses all things to conform us to the image of His Son. The good is that we become like Jesus, not that the happenings of our life end with "happily ever after".
Our "happily ever after" comes when Revelation has been completed.
So when God leads you to where you have to trust without borders, He goes with you. He helps you walk on the waters and picks you up when you stop believing and sink into the waves. He wants to take us deeper because He knows it is best.
Brent said he was learning to slow down. God used some of this time to help Brent realize that it was time to move to a different position in ministry. He knew God could heal his leg/knee/ankle pronto. But that wasn't happening. There may be something that is going on that God will use through this time of Brent's leg trouble to bring glory to Himself.
We are moving on in life. Brent has a new job. We are getting to know the people of the church and they are getting to know us. I don't know if it's unfortunate or not, but with me and Brent what you see is what you get. We do not do well at pretending. Ben is doing very well where he is. We are going to visit him next month on his birthday and are looking into the next steps for us as a family. Hopefully that will involve purchasing a new house sooner than later!
So now you have the rest of the story....and why my first thought was "I think God read my blog."
We also learned of an adoption/foster support group that had started at a local church. We were so excited. The girls loved going and meeting new friends. We were also enjoying new friendships. It just so happened that the couple who started the group also owned a foot clinic. He was surgeon. Brent was explaining the whole ordeal to Craig one night after the meeting. A few days later Craig saw Brent and determined (naturally) that Brent needed another surgery. Only this time on his ankle. You know the song, "the thigh bone's connected to knee bone, the knee bone's connected to the shin bone, the shin bone's connect to the ankle bone..." It's all true. If one part of your body is out of whack, it affects the other parts of your body. Brent had a block in his ankle making it impossible to bend his ankle correctly, along with several bone spurs and his achilles tendon needed to be reattached. All of this affected how he walked and his knee. (remember when I said he couldn't put his ankle on the floor, well this is the answer) April 21st was the surgery and ta-da! Brent has a bionic ankle. No more MRI's for him. He spent six more weeks in boot. Now here is the crazy part, as soon as Brent came out of the boot and put the tiniest bit of weight on his ankle for the first time in forever.....a bone in the side of his foot broke! I can't make this stuff up! Back to the boot for another six weeks. This isn't ideal when summer is coming and you have 2 youth camps, a mission trip, and family vacation planned. It really isn't ideal when you see the light at the end of the tunnel and then BAM! it closes.
 |
| The hospital where Brent had ankle surgery brought us presents to take home! |
Summer in a boot was not fun. He did use the wheelchair for one summer camp. This was a life-saver.
Brent was out of the boot by our vacation. He did use a brace a certain times. He continued therapy. There was improvement, just that it was not "as good as new" as we were hoping. He limps/drags his leg along sometimes and his muscles draw up if he sits longer than five minutes, so he usually has to stretch when he stands. He is trying some massage therapy now. His muscles are still not as strong as they used to be and it can still be painful at times. It's a work in progress.
 |
| Vacation with ankle brace. |
Some days it is easier to believe the lies than the truth. You have to choose the truth and choose stronger faith. I was not doing a good job of choosing to be strong. (I still don't choose well some days/weeks, just ask my mom about last week. It was nightmare-ish!)
One way I made it through most days was listening to my favorite CD by Rend Collective. You can find it here. The girls can sing most of the songs. I love to hear them singing. Lighthouse is their favorite. Click here to listen.
As I assume most people do, I wanted to know where was God. Well, He was actually right in the middle of our big mess. Our pastor preached a sermon once with the example of a little child being locked in the upstairs bathroom of a house and calling for help. The father hears the child's cries. He gets a ladder and crawls in the window. But instead of unlocking the door to solve the problem, he sits with the crying child. So instead God healing Brent straight up, He thought it better to sit with us.
Um, that probably seems mean. Why not just open the door and fix the problem? I don't know. God has His mysteries. We have to put them in our mystery box and be content knowing that God has more understanding that we do. Isn't that why we trust Him?
Another question I had: where was the good? God's goodness to us was everywhere.
Here is some of the goodness:
I paid for every medication in cash that was given from people who wanted to help. I went to Kroger pharmacy so often, it became a joke between me and the pharmacists. One week, I went to the pharmacy 4 days in a row.
I didn't cook one meal the ENTIRE month of October. That carried over a little bit into November. Our freezer was overflowing. We had so much food given to us. *During this time, we received a meal from a youth family who was managing their own suffering of a mom with cancer. The week it came, I had been wanting some chips and salsa, but never took time to stop at the store to get it. This family sent a meal of tacos and my favorite chips and salsa. She had no idea. It was the best meal.
We have ZERO debt from the hospital stay and surgeries.
Two physical therapists and a chiropractor who went above and beyond to help Brent. Without them, I don't know where we would be.
We were apart of a church family that overflowed with love for us. They mowed our grass, got Christmas decorations down from the attic, helped with the kids when we needed it. Two or three families took responsibility for the youth fundraisers on Saturdays and the classes on church meeting days. They came to visit in the hospital and stay some during the days. A lady paid to have our house cleaned.
My mom was in a place where she could come over and be with us. Brent's dad was also able to come and stay with Brent in the hospital.
We discovered Brent had a few other health issues that needed to be addressed that we might not have known about otherwise.
One thing we learned about God's goodness is that it isn't always about happiness and flowers. That's how I determine if something is good at least, is if everything is safe, happy, and you know.... good. Romans 8:28 says: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." But have you ever read verse 29 that is very much connected to verse 28? Verse 29: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstbornamong many brothers and sisters." I underlined part of verse 29. You have to pay attention to that part "to be conformed to the image of His Son...." The good that God works in us is that that He uses all things to conform us to the image of His Son. The good is that we become like Jesus, not that the happenings of our life end with "happily ever after".
Our "happily ever after" comes when Revelation has been completed.
So when God leads you to where you have to trust without borders, He goes with you. He helps you walk on the waters and picks you up when you stop believing and sink into the waves. He wants to take us deeper because He knows it is best.
Brent said he was learning to slow down. God used some of this time to help Brent realize that it was time to move to a different position in ministry. He knew God could heal his leg/knee/ankle pronto. But that wasn't happening. There may be something that is going on that God will use through this time of Brent's leg trouble to bring glory to Himself.
We are moving on in life. Brent has a new job. We are getting to know the people of the church and they are getting to know us. I don't know if it's unfortunate or not, but with me and Brent what you see is what you get. We do not do well at pretending. Ben is doing very well where he is. We are going to visit him next month on his birthday and are looking into the next steps for us as a family. Hopefully that will involve purchasing a new house sooner than later!
So now you have the rest of the story....and why my first thought was "I think God read my blog."
 |
| Visiting Ben in June. |
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