The Itinerary

"He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need there is" (Acts 17:25).

Max Lucado's book entitled Come Thirsty is my current selection. In the book, he shares the following story:

Sometime ago I went to the Indianapolis airport to catch a return flight to San Antonio. Upon reaching the terminal, I realized I had lost my itinerary. But that was okay, because I knew which airline would carry me home. Continental. Having flown from San Antonio on Continental, I would return on Continental. Right? But the Continental counter was closed. The lights were off. No ticket agent was in sight. With the clock ticking toward my 7:40 p.m. departure, I called for help. "Hello? Anyone back there? I'm here for the 7:40 flight."

From within the catacombs emerged a Continental baggage handler. He looked at me and said, "We don't have a 7:40 flight."

I replied, "Yes, you do. I flew Continental here, and I need to fly it home."

He shrugged. "We don't have another flight tonight."

I turned to the automated ticket machine, entered my information, and requested a boarding pass... It informed me that there was no sigh thing. Wouldn't you know it? Even the machine was wrong!

The employee, much to his credit, bore with me. Scratching his bald head, he offered a solution. "You know, Northwest Airlines has a 7:40 flight. Maybe you should check with them."

Sure enough, they did. And I had to admit that the airline's schedule ranked higher than my opinion. Their authority check-mated mine. I could have stood in front of the Continental counter all night, stamping my feet and demanding my way. But what good would it have done? Eventually I had to submit to the truth of the itinerary.

Every so often in life, we find ourselves standing before God's counter, thinking we know the itinerary. Good health, a job promotion, a pregnancy. Many times God checks the itinerary he created and says yes. But there are times when he says, "No. That isn't the journey I have planned for you. I have you routed through the city of Struggle."

As I read those words today, I was once again reminded of the Sovereignty of Jesus Christ. He knows all things. He alone gives life and breath and being. He supplies for every need there is or every will be in this world. Certainly I have been guilty of going to the Lord with my own itinerary and seeking for Him to issue me the boarding pass according to what I have planned. Yet this isn't the way God works or the way He desires for us to live. Not only is God strong enough to govern everything and control all things, He cares intimately for each of us too. His will is best.

I'm not saying it is wrong to want to live a comfortable life. It is wrong when we let anything to the contrary cause us to stand at odds with God. I'm not saying it is wrong for parents to desire their children be healthy, wealthy and happy. But what if God's will for them, and for me, is an itinerary through the city of Struggle? Struggling is a part of life. Difficulties stretch us, grow us and lead us to maturity, especially spiritual maturity.

My parents have probably prayed for those things for my life. However, I praise God He saw fit to let me struggle and grow in Him over the last 11 months. I hurt to see my son struggle so. I ache to observe the impact of all of the struggle, hospital stays, surgeries and so forth upon Sarah, Isaac, Ethan and Micah. Nevertheless, the Sovereign God has a plan for each of us and Micah's itinerary, for the glory of God, is routed through immense pain and suffering.

For the first time today, Dr. Berman finally said, "He's not critical any longer. He's finally stable." It has been intense to say the least. Micah has not gotten better or shown great signs of improvement. However, he does not show to be declining as before. Currently, as I write this, he sleeps in his hospital bed. He is receiving platelets continuously. The liver biopsy was performed earlier today and the results should be known tomorrow. He also had an endoscopy which revealed a sore or sores in the small bowel. Until the biopsy from this is known, the cause is nothing more than speculation.

After yesterday's high liver levels, Micah received a potent steroid dose which apparently helped. His liver numbers were back down near normal. This may indicate the problem was an episode of rejection. There is additional concern that Micah's immune system could be the culprit behind the last several weeks. There have been cases where children have received transplants and their immune system began not to attack just the transplanted organ but their own organs as well. At this time, Dr. Berman believes this could be the case, but is waiting for the pathology report from the biopsies before making any medicinal changes. Micah also had a tube replaced in the right ear which had closed off from dried blood after his ear continued to bleed following last Friday's surgery.

While we do not have an abundance of new information, we do have the possibility of some information to help us toward understanding what is and has been taking place with Micah. We praise the Lord for revealing the sores today. These likely explain the reason for his decreased appetite, pain in eating and pain when having a bowel movement.

Again, as always we thank you for praying. We continue to ask for your prayers for Micah and our family. We give glory to God that Micah is stable and no longer critical. Prayerfully, tomorrow's update will contain new praiseworthy information which will aid him in being restored in health.