Trials & Laughter...Sorrows & Joy

We struggled through three and a half years of infertility before we got pregnant with Jude.  During that time, I questioned God's plan and really struggled with trusting Him.  Tonight, I received a message from a friend who is going through the same things...only to a greater extent.

As I was writing her back...hurting for her and wanting so badly to hug her...I realized how differently I view suffering now.  I am so grateful for everything we are going through with Jude.  It breaks my heart to see him as sick as he is, but I thank God every day for the time that we have with him.  I know more confidently than ever before that His plan is good.  He is good.  And, I am learning to a small extent what Paul means when he says, "we rejoice in our sufferings."

"Therefore since we have been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand,

and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings,

knowing that suffering produces endurance,

and endurance produces character,

and character produces hope,

and hope does not put us to shame,

because God's love has been poured into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Romans 5:1-5

Once again, much has happened in the 24 hours since we wrote last.  At this point, we are not transferring to Denver Children's Hospital.  We will remain here in Albuquerque.  Today, we were visited by a plethora of surgeons.  The conclusion they came to is that Jude now has a "wound issue." A plastic surgeon will take him to the operating room tomorrow along with a neurosurgeon.  Together, they will do a rotation flap that will hopefully fix the problems he has had with CSF leaks and will protect him from an infection such as meningitis.  The possibility of infection is driving the urgency behind this repair.  An infection would be devastating.

As of now, the plan for surgery is 12:30pm tomorrow.  We are grateful for this plan, but we have learned that plans can change at any moment.  Ultimately, it is God's plan that we're trusting in.

Please pray for protection for Jude against infection.

Please pray that his surgery will be successful and that our sweet baby will do well under anesthesia.  

Please pray for wisdom and guidance for everyone involved in Jude's care. 

Please pray that we will trust the Lord with all of our hearts and that He will be glorified.

Please pray that Caleb has a good birthday tomorrow and that we can love him well from afar.

Caleb's birthday is tomorrow (Wednesday).  He is turning five.  This wasn't exactly how we planned on celebrating his birthday...with him out in Illinois.  But, the Lord knew.  It has been hard figuring out how to show him love over the long distance, and these last several days have been pretty crazy.  We made him a few birthday videos tonight, and we wanted to post one on here.  We laughed so hard, which we have thankfully been doing a lot of lately.  With sorrow has come so much joy.  Thank You, Lord.  :-)