Lay 'em Down

"Casting all our cares upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Aren't you glad you can cast any care upon the Lord? I'm glad there are not asterisks in the Bible. God's word doesn't tell us that we can cast every care upon Him, except for _____________________. Whatever the concern, whatever the circumstance, we can lay it down before Him. Better yet, the Bible says we can cast our care upon Him. We can literally lay our care upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in order that He might carry it for us. The most beautiful part of it all is the why. Why does God allow us to do this?

Because He cares for you! A God who would put His own Son to death for our sin in order that we might have redemption and the forgiveness of sin is a God who cares. He isn't far removed. He does not just sit upon His throne and bark out orders. He cares for us. He loves us. Thanks be to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for the care which He exercises over us. I am grateful that I can cast my care upon Him knowing that He can handle it, carry it and care for it...and me!

Last night we took an unexpected trip to the emergency room at Duke. After having been discharged from the hospital on Sunday afternoon, Micah slept for 15 hours on Monday night (waking up twice to eat). However, this is quite abnormal for him. So when we finally we able to speak with the doctor's office, we were instructed to take him to the ER because the clinic was closing. The concern is that the ammonia level can be extremely elevated. The symptom is infants is sleepiness. The danger is that it can cause damage to the brain.

After spending about 6 hours in the ER, we received the report indicating his levels were all right. His ammonia was slightly elevated, but nothing to be alarmed about considering his condition. His bilirubin level is the highest it has been at 28. Yet, this is to be expected with end-stage liver disease. It really does all come back to one part of the body not functioning properly.

Tomorrow we return for a follow-up visit from the hospital stay (and now from our ER visit). Additionally, we were able to schedule a couple appointments in the living donor screening process around Micah's appointment. Sarah and I will meet with the social worker (I guess they'll find out I'm crazy after all) before his appointment. After Micah's visit, we will return to the adult clinic so I can have an x-ray and EKG performed. There is the possibility an ultrasound of my liver will be performed at some point just as an extra measure. However, this has not been scheduled or discussed at this point. But that would be (at least to my knowledge) the final step of screening before scheduling the surgery.

Sarah and I once again thank you for your prayers. We thank you for the cards, the encouraging emails and the care for our family. We pray the Lord will bless each of you today. May Christ lead you to live more and more for the glory of God.