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.
We have a library book this week called ZOOM!!! about a boy getting a speeding ticket in his wheelchair. Tell Uncle Chuck he'd better watch out... ;-) The boys are still jealous of all his contraptions! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I was impressed with Chuck's dilemma of how totally dependent we are on God's provision and mercy. The thing is, we ALL are, but some people have the painful blessing of SEEING and KNOWING. It reminded me of when I had a non-ambulatory two-year-old and a newborn, and of how I prayed everywhere I went that God would send someone to open doors for me. He always did!!! Always but once. As hard as that "once" was, it made me so much more aware of how much of God's faithfulness was smoothing my roads that went unseen. I came to realize these moments of utter helplessness and pain were a severe mercy, in disguise.
ReplyDeleteContinuing to pray for you.
love.