There You Are

"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there" (Psalm 139:7-8).

This passage is often used to warn individuals who choose the path of disobedience of the impossibility of running away from God. While this is true and a proper application, I am not sure that was the immediate thought of the psalmist. The point, however, is precisely accurate: God is everywhere! Furthermore, He is present when we are lifted high to the heavens or brought low, to the very depths of Sheol. Matthew Henry writes, "In the most distant corners of the world, in heaven, or in hell, I cannot go out of thy reach."

That we cannot go to a place--a physical place, emotional place, mental place--where God is not present provides great comfort and encouragement. This became so real for me when I compare two days in our family from this past week. Friday and Saturday of this week, back to back days, were like opposites. On Friday, Micah was probably the best he's been in months. He was fever-free, smiling, laughing and even ate baby food. I know, we give thanks to God for him eating baby food. It is a big deal for him. And while I am guilty of not giving thanks and praise in the moment, on Friday when we ascended to the heavens, or to the mountain top, the presence of God was there.

Then came Saturday (yesterday). Saturday was a not so good day. In our house, we expect that these days. So often people will ask me how Micah is doing. I answer in the present. However, I believe individuals often misunderstand how day-to-day it really is for him and us. Friday was incredible; Saturday was not. Micah woke up during the night with another high fever. When he got up Saturday morning, he continued to run a high fever. Just behind his left ear, it looked red and swollen. This progressively worsened and eventually made his ear stick out. So we took that familiar trip that is more familiar to us than we'd like to even discuss.

Doctors believe Micah to have mastoiditis. In short, an ear infection moves to the mastoid bone just behind the ear. In most cases, this can be treated with antibiotics. In some cases, surgery is required to drain the infection from the mastoid bone. At this point as it concerns Micah, the doctors believe the antibiotics should sufficiently work to clear it. However, nothing is so straight forward especially for an immune-compromised individual.

All of this has occurred as we waited for Monday morning and the lung biopsy. Because the last bronchoscopy did not produce clear answers as to the months long issue related to Micah's lungs, Dr. Berman decided it best to press forward with the lung biopsy to get tissue to test. However, in light of the infection, the biopsy which was supposed to be Monday morning will be rescheduled.

So this is where we are on this day, October 12. It has been hard seeing him so healthy on Friday and so lethargic, uncomfortable and in pain on Saturday. We ascended high on Friday and low on Saturday. But we did find that the Lord was present in both places. Sometimes the only thing you may find in those moments is God's presence. Yet this is the greatest need of every hour of every day.