Refuge

(Had just finished up this post today when Mary Graham woke up this afternoon with fever, please pray for her and that this is not a sign of the infection returning. Up until now she had been great-see below)


"His delight in not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those...who hope in his steadfast love." Psalm 147:10-11


First of all, I am so grateful to my friend Sarah Beth for setting up the prayer chain for Mary Graham and our family. MG is doing great....so far so good.....no fevers, pain, etc that would indicate infection. We are about 12 days out from being off the antibiotics and she is happy and eating great. The doctors said it could take up to three weeks for the infection to present itself again.....please keep praying for her and her upcoming surgery on Nov 13th in Philadelphia. Your prayers are being heard....she is doing so well and there are days when I know His hands are carrying me through because of your prayers. People ask what they can do to help us at times and prayer is the one thing I am most thankful for.

Last week, after feeling a little at a loss about getting MG some kind of gait trainer or equipment that would help her move better, I prayed for God to intervene, feeling like my hands were tied (getting assessed and getting this type of medical equipment is a process, a long process). But, I found something in a magazine one night that I thought would work for MG. She is now 20 months old, and I am her means of mobility, I move her when she wants to move. At her age she needs to be able to move and explore and she doesn't have the strength or ability to do that right now. So, after discovering this little chair, called a "ZipZac" chair for little ones who can't walk (it was invented by a family with a little boy with spinabifida, named Zac). I emailed my PT at the Bell Center about it....she called the company that day and they mailed it to us within a week to borrow two months for MG to try. They are rather expensive, so it is great that they let us borrow it first. She is still getting used to it and I'm so thankful that God orchestrated these details so quickly.

Here are a couple videos of her, she's gotten even better since these were taken. She has never been able to play with the magnets on the frig independently, she was so excited.


IMG 0535[1] from Jennifer Sheppard on Vimeo.







IMG 0529[1] from Jennifer Sheppard on Vimeo.


     The "ZipZac" chair is basically a tiny wheelchair. We are thankful for something to help her move around and are continuing to work with her on standing and taking some steps. I was thrilled to get the little chair but it was quite a dose of reality seeing her in it for the first time. When I was pregnant with MG, never would have I pictured my 20 month old in something like this, it is a lot to take in some days. We pray that she will continue to gain strength and walk one day.

      Lately I have been reading a book a friend recommended called Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper...it's about Naomi and Ruth and their journey through a difficult tragedy, but then God's grace brings them out of a bitter providence, as he orchestrates their steps. Naomi is so overwelmed by God's bitter providence, after her husband and sons have died, that she can't see the signs of hope as they start to appear. She believes in God's sovereignty, but is not able to see his grace revealed. As Piper puts it, "she is unmoved from her sorrows." Ruth, on the other hand, has faced the same bitter tragedy and left her family and Boaz tells her, "the Lord repay you for what you have done....the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." Piper goes on to discuss the beauty of Ruth's response to her tragedy....she took refuge in the Lord and was able to receive his grace, mercy and strength during this time. She has "humble confidence in the mighty and merciful wings of God." Sometimes I think I am more like Naomi, but I want to be more like Ruth....to just take refuge in the Lord and allow Him to pour out his mercy and grace and not let bitterness of circumstances cloud these. He wants us to find refuge only in Him and Him alone....I know I try and find it other places. After reading the story of Ruth again, this book really opened my eyes and God gave me such a sense of hope, a renewed hope in Him and his love and that He is in the small details.

I love what Piper says in the end, "With Ruth and Naomi, let us fall on our faces, bow before the Lord, confess our unworthiness, take refuge under the wings of God, and be astonished at his grace."

Thank you always for praying.