Displaying and Declaring

"...[P]ray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much" (James 5:16).

The Lord has taught me the power, the value and the great need for continual prayer in the life of every believer over these last 10 months. Many of you have been faithful to pray for us every day or every week since we first learned Micah had a problem with his liver. Before I even speak to Micah's current condition, may I ask you to add an additional name and family to your prayer list.

I recently received word that a friend of mine from the church I served on staff in Tennessee had a major stroke on Christmas Eve. He is only a few months older than me. When I called to check on him, he was trying to eat some food. However, the left side of his body remains paralyzed. Will you please pray for him, his wife Bonnie and their two children (Victoria and Ryan, Jr.)? Pray for God's provision and healing.

As for our family, it's been quite the few weeks. Micah was admitted to the hospital on December 17. He's still there! After multitudes of tests (MRI, Lumbar Puncture, Blood Cultures, Echocardiogram, etc.), we believe the culprit(s) causing all the trouble have been pinpointed. It is believed that Micah has EBV (Epstein Bar Virus) as well as a fungus. He is currently receiving an anti-viral and anti-fungal medication. In the last 48 hours he has certainly started showing signs of feeling better and a more normal disposition. He has also not had a fever for the last 48 hours which is a great sign of potential accuracy in diagnosis and positive progress.

Christmas was quite interesting this year. On one hand, he have yet to celebrate. On the other, we celebrated in what seemed to be a very fitting manner. We are waiting until Micah comes home to open the presents and do our family celebration (although Isaac and Ethan have both opened many presents given by churches and other organizations to children at Duke, as well as from their family). Hopefully Micah will come home by New Year's Day. Yet we do not know as of yet.

While it may not be the Christmas we would have chosen, it will likely go down as the one we remember. On Christmas Eve, I took Isaac and Ethan to the hospital to be with Sarah and Micah. With permission of nurses, Isaac and Ethan would spend the night in Micah's hospital room. Most individuals who learned of this thought Sarah and I were absolutely "out of our mind." That did enter my thoughts, but I could not see another way. So we arrived, ate dinner and then ate our "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, ate our cake and then watched a movie. Isaac didn't last long and was asleep in probably 10 minutes. So Ethan and I climbed into our pullout bed while Sarah and Isaac slept in the hospital bed. Micah snoozed in his small crib and we slept.

The morning of Christmas, Isaac and Ethan piled into the wagon and I pulled them down to the cafeteria to get our Christmas breakfast. It was a far cry from mom or grandma's country Christmas cookin', but our Fruit Loops and bagel sufficed. Afterwards, the boys opened the presents delivered by those organizations or church groups. They had a blast doing so.

In the midst of all this, I thought to myself: Jesus was born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough. I guess Duke Hospital isn't too bad in light of where the Father sent His Son. The smells. The germs. The noises. The inconvenience. I didn't want to be in the hospital. We had plans to travel as usual. We had hopes of a normal kind of Christmas. But Mary and Joseph had a lot to gripe about. Having to travel at all when she was full term just so they could follow the decree of for the census seems burdensome. Not having a proper room to sleep, let alone have a baby, appears to be ridiculous. Realizing God the Father knew and planned it all this way, I am humbled. And most of all, because I know He knew, planned and sent His Son and I was the reason.

So when I began to feel sorry for myself, the Lord sure did remind me of the conditions surrounding His Son on that very first Christmas. And when all was said and done, I may not want to repeat this Christmas, that is repeat a hospital stay and Micah being sick, but it was good in its own way. Considering the first Christmas ever, it almost seemed fitting.

I continue to ask for your prayers. Pray for Micah to be healthy soon and for the wisdom of every doctor whose hands are upon this case. Please continue to pray that Micah will have sustained health over the next several months, especially through the brutal cold and flu season. He will turn a year old in 6 weeks. Praise the Lord for almost a full year of life for our son. There are times we weren't sure he'd even live 10 months. But the Lord is good. Pray for Sarah, Isaac and Ethan during these tough days of separation and unsettled shedules and routines.

Most of all, ask the Father to enable us to give Him glory and to glorify Himself.