Seasons of Life

Prayer Needs:

Thank you for praying for Chuck's shoulder pain.  A friend gave him a massage last Sun. and his shoulder pain is a lot better.  However, his arms are still going to sleep during the night.  Chuck has been kept awake during the last week by TMJ pain.  It is also affecting his ability to eat.  Please pray as the Holy Spirit leads you but we would also love prayer for healing, sleep, strength and guidance.  In my last two blogs I mentioned that we were having a hard time emotionally and the last couple of weeks have been easier.  Thank you for praying for us for this.

My musings: What do Chuck and I call this season of our life?   The stage we are reminded of is when we became parents of our most wonderful daughter Shanon.  Everything in our life seemed to take longer.  Our priorities changed.  We slowed our life down and became more intentional.  It took more time to leave the house because we had to make sure we had everything we needed for an infant.  Now we have a scooter in the Suburban and a manual wheelchair in the Toyota and we have to remember to shift the walker from car to car depending on which one we are taking.  (Chuck needs the walker to get to the end of the Suburban to reach the scooter.)  Even when we plan to the best of our ability things happen.  One day the scooter broke down when Chuck was at his physical therapy appointment.  I was with him and we were able to borrow a manual wheelchair.  Yesterday we remembered to put the scooter in the Suburban before Chuck left for church.  However the lift that allows the scooter to automatically exit the rear of the the Suburban and be lowered to the ground malfunctioned.  Chuck was at church; I was at home.  Chuck had not brought his cell phone and on top of it he got there late so no one was in the parking lot.  He was stuck.  The scooter had been lowered to the ground but the lift would not fit back in the Suburban so Chuck could not close the tailgate.  An elderly friend came along after awhile and let him use her cell phone but by that time I was at the store buying Kleenex and Airborne and had forgotten my cell phone.  Chuck was aware of his helplessness and felt insecure but was reminded of how God is faithful.  Then he got an idea and was able to  do some maneuvering which got the lift to work.  Good lessons learned are to always bring a screw driver so you are able to use the manual override and to always bring a cell phone.  Even more important, it was a reminder both of our dependence and God's faithfulness.  When Shanon was an infant she was totally dependant on us.  Chuck and I know this intellectually but it is often easy to forget; we are totally dependant on God even for every breath.  We are thankful that no matter the season of life we are in He is with us and He is good.

Asking, Knocking, Seeking

Prayer:  Thank you for praying for us this week. This week has been a hard one emotionally for us but in the midst of it we had more visits from the deer then we have ever had.  For a couple of days they just hung out around our house.  How could we not be aware of God's love and goodness when we look out a window and see a mother deer lying on the ground yet on alert and her two babies (we call them teenagers now) lying near her?      We are so thankful for the deer visits.  We would like prayer for Chuck's arms.  He is overusing them to compensate for the weakness in his legs and has shoulder and elbow pain.  Please pray the God would protect them from damage.  Chuck goes to physical therapy and does exercises but again needs protection that the exercises will not cause more damage. This week we are going to begin the process of getting a handicapped accessible van.We are no farther on receiving plans from any of the contractors for the accessible bathroom.  Please pray that we will be able to see things from God's perspective and walk in truth and peace as we walk through this season of our life.

My Musings:
When I had cancer a number of years ago I lay awake the first night and chose a new wife for Chuck!  That C word was so scary.  I asked God for a scripture verse to rest on but I told Him I did not want a verse on healing because we had recently lost a couple of friends to cancer.  Both these friends were in their 30's and both were convinced they would be healed on this earth.  God gave me the verse "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved".  Of course later I learned that the word "saved" means a lot more in the original than our english word conveys and that God had given me a verse on healing!  When Chuck was diagnosed with ALS I again asked the Lord for a verse and the verse He gave me is  "Ask (and keep on asking) and it will be given to you, Seek (and keep on seeking) and you will find, knock (and keep on knocking) and the door will be opened to you".  In society it is not polite to keep asking but God not only does not mind He tells us to do so.  Chuck and I are doing a lot of asking; sometimes it is for minute by minute strength when Chuck is trying to maneuver physically, we ask that we would walk in His kingdom which is(His) righteousness joy and peace, we ask for wisdom for the many decisions facing us and we continue to ask for healing.  Thanks for asking along with us.

I am not sure how many years it has been since Chuck and I first read Pilgrim's Progress.  Our love for the book continued when Shanon was young and one of our favorite books we read to her (given by Aunt Kim and Uncle Dale) was a childrens' version of Pilgrim's Progress.  We have images from the movie we often watched with Shanon fixed firmly in our mind.  And so, Chuck and I are borrowing John Bunyan's title and calling this blog  "pilgrim's progress".  Each time I  write I will first share where Chuck is and how you can pray.  The second part will be my musings about our journey.

Prayer Directions:  First, we want to say you so much for praying for us.  Chuck has continued to become weaker.  We are thankful he can still use a walker.  The last month or so has been rough and we are having to fight being overwhelmed.  We are facing many decisions such as remodelling to make our house wheelchair accessible, purchasing a van and other health related decisions.  Please pray for us as we go through this that we will be able to not walk in fear but be encouraged and continue to rest in God's goodness and love and for wisdom as we make decisions.  We have met with a couple of different companies but have not found the right fit yet.  The contractor has to be willing to work with VA so that is limiting for us.  And always we welcome prayer for Chuck's healing as the Holy Spirit leads you.

Psalm 56:3 is becoming a favorite of ours.  We know God says "Fear Not" over and over but often we are afraid.  Psalm 56:3 says "When I am afraid I will trust in You".  I am so glad on those days we cannot banish fear we can still trust.