Between 5-5:30 am on Saturday morning, I was awakened by thunder, hail, limbs crashing and driving rain. Let me add here that one of my greatest fears up until 2 years ago was to be at home with the kids alone when a major storm came through. Looking back over Saturday morning, I can see God’s grace so clearly. I was never afraid. I was texting back and forth with my sister who lives just a few miles away. She had lost power and I hadn’t yet. I turned on the weather and watched the local meteorologists cover the storm then my power went out. Through all this time, it actually never occurred to me that the storm was anything more than a regular thunderstorm. Now, to be clear, there were no tornadoes but we did have straight line winds between 75-80 mph. Strong! Turns out an area of land 2 miles by 2 miles was hardest hit and we were in it. We had no damage. I couldn’t see anything major in our front or back yard so I just went about my day, waiting for the power to come on. Mid-afternoon when it hadn’t come on, I stepped outside to see if I was missing something. My neighbor had a tree on top of her house. I checked with her. No damage. The next house had a tree down beside it and the park had a couple of trees down. To make a long story short, we got our power back on Monday night, 7 pm. What a weekend!
I won’t give all the details but to complicate our powerless state, Philip’s Zyrtec had become ineffective so his congestion got worse. He was coughing, choking and vomiting and a suction machine was necessary. Thankfully, it has a battery but recharging it was interesting. We had mobile oxygen tanks so we could get by without the concentrator. We had to also charge his feeding pump in various ways. He zoomed through towels and bed pads because of vomiting and I couldn’t wash them. With all the chaos, Ethan and I both fell off the potty training wagon and that was on my mind. Plus, Sunday was Joyanna’s 5th birthday. We had already planned to celebrate on Monday but she had asked for a Nemo cake and I was going to get started on Sunday. The nights were cool so we were heating the house using our wood-burning fireplace and everything smelled like smoke.
God used all this to teach me a hard but very good lesson. Sadly, on Saturday and Sunday, my attitude was not good, especially around my family. I was snappy, complaining, and frustrated. You’ve heard the illustration maybe of a tea bag. When you put the tea bag down in hot water, the hot water doesn’t change the contents of the tea bag, it only allows them to come out. The Lord showed me on Sunday night that the “hot water” of this situation had revealed some pride and selfishness that I had not dealt with. I had been feeling good about myself overall because my reactions and attitudes were okay. But when things were taken out of my control, it revealed that what I really feel okay about is the control I have over certain things. It’s a good reminder that I can’t just surrender the big things (like Brineura for Joyanna) but I need to surrender all things to God’s care and control.
I was able to bake Joyanna’s Nemo cake at my sister-in-law’s house on Monday and do some laundry. Then, I headed home to decorate Nemo at our house. We had just finished supper and were going to do cake, ice cream and presents and the lights came on. We celebrated Joyanna’s birthday and the power coming on.
The Lord also taught me another lesson. Thankfulness. Tuesday, I was so thankful to run my washing machine, turn on the stove in the kitchen and just program Philip’s feeding pump and turn it on. We get so used to all that is provided for us in this society and when we go without it, we remember to be thankful.
I’ve put in a call to the Genetics Department at OU but haven’t heard from them yet about the steps toward Brineura. The verses about waiting are still all around my house. I’ll need them more than ever now. At least we had a date for the FDA approval. Now the unknown lies before us. We know that God knows.
Soooo many have told me they are praying for us. Thank you sooooo much! God hears your prayers!
Here’s the song that came to my heart last night. I listened to it 3 times in a row and my heart was bursting with praise!
I'M BLESSED
Tracy Jones and Ricky Atkinson
Each day that I live, He gives more than I need
And I could never describe His goodness to me
If you ask how I make it day after day
There is only one thing I can say
It's been a long journey but I have been blessed
Walking with Jesus, I have no regrets
He is so good to me, and I must confess
The way has been long, but I'm blessed
All that I need I find at His feet
When I'm hungry, He feeds me with manna so sweet
When my soul is weary, He sends peace and rest
And all I can say is I'm blessed
Now I've had my share of sunshine and rain
Days filled with laughter and nights filled with pain
But with every mile as I travel this way
The journey gets sweeter each day
It's been a long journey but I have been blessed
Walking with Jesus, I have no regrets
He is so good to me, and I must confess
The way has been long, but I'm blessed
I'M BLESSED
So much more than I ever deserve
I'M BLESSED
He's been faithfully keeping His word
I'M BLESSED
I've been cleansed by the hand of the Lord
I'm blessed, I'm blessed, I'm blessed
It's been a long journey but I have been blessed
Walking with Jesus, I have no regrets
He is so good to me, and I must confess
The way has been long, but I'm blessed