Overwhelmed

So, how are we doing? This has got to be the question on everyone's mind. The answer in short is, "okay". Yup, just okay. Sarah is doing great, all things considering. Although extremely tired (asleep more than awake today), she has been steadily improving physically. Today she started using only one crutch to get around and has been working on weaning herself from pain medication. As you know from the videos in the hospital, one crutch is a GREAT improvement. Feeling exhausted all the time is wearing though.
I swear, if it wasn't for ALL OF YOU praying and helping I am not sure what condition we would all be in (although I might be losing weight rather than gaining). I am not sure what we would do without your help. God has called you to pray and has answered so many of your prayers. You don't even know (mostly because I have not been telling you by keeping up with the blog). No doubt in my mind, God IS answering your prayers. Many of the answers I don't even know are answers, I just see them as blessing and fruit of who He is. It has been overwhelming...truly it has been. Cards, gifts, food, services, etc. if we need it, it is provided in a matter of minutes sometimes. All these blessing have been pouring in on a daily basis. Definitely more than we have even asked for.

Saturday, Sarah's grandmother and aunts (Mom's side of the family) came to our house as the "cleaning crew". They breezed through the house with brooms, mops, sponges and even vacuumed and washed the inside of our van! (What a blessing this was to Sarah as she would not be getting to the van for a very long time but really appreciates a clean one.) The visit alone was wonderful, the encouragement Sarah needed after a tough Friday. Then Sunday, Sarah's grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins (Dad's side fo the family) decended upon us from the great white north (3+ hours away) just to encourage us and share a meal during this trying time. Sarah was thrilled that "Pittsburg came to [her]". The love of our family so warmed our hearts. I can't even describe to you the sense of family. It is so evident that they would do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING for us.

I know this is true of more than just family. We cannot express our gratitude or how we even feel. Words cannot express how taken we are with this outpouring of decadent love towards us. Without this encourement, our journey would not be 'okay.' Keeping our focus and perspective has been challenging. Sarah has been doing really well considering all that is on her plate. However, the future lurks and the thoughts of the pending pain and suffering physically and emotionally can be overwhelming. Athough she is trying to trust God, it has been really hard when the path set before us seems so dark. It reminds me of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:39 "My Father if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.") It is really comforting to know that Jesus has gone through it. He also saw the path ahead of Him and wished there could be another way, but was willing to follow the Father's perfect plan to provide us with a means to have relationship with Him rather than be separated by sin.
In our circumstance, we feel that trusting God is not an option, it is a necessity. We may not understand why but NEED to trust in Him. He is the only way we will get through this. All we need to do is look around us and see His hands. You are His hands. He has called so many of you (all hours of the day) to pray for us and our needs. How can we deny the work of His hands? So the question for us is, "God, will you spare us this cup?"

"Nothing is impossible." The lyrics from "Healer" (playable below) are true and we believe them, but dare we hope for them? [Sarah: As I hear the words of the song, I pray that God will make them truly the words of my heart as I sing them. He is capable, but my faith is so weak. He can move mountains with my teeny faith though.] Please continue to pray for us. I will try to keep you posted on our needs, but for now, please ask God for what we need; He knows better than I.