Whirlwind Couple Days

It has been a whirlwind couple of days since arriving at the treatment center. Monday morning we had our first dive and Seth did not do well. He was having pain in his left ear and was very scared by the hood he had to wear. He cried off and on through the entire hour and a half session and gooberd snot all over the inside of his hood - good thing they clean those and have individual hoods for each child. Alice, the treatment center director, took a closer look at his ears after the session and said his left ear was full of wax. She encouraged me to take him to an ENT and have it cleaned out. She made us the appointment and we went down to Boone (25 miles - but a 50 minute drive - love the beauty of the mountains - don't love the driving so much) and had a very nice doc clean out his ear.

This morning we got back in the chamber for our 2nd dive and had a completely different experience - in a positive way. Seth did not cry at all during the entire dive - he watched his favorite DVD - Math Circus, and sat peacefully for the duration of the hour and half treatment. PTL, PTL, PTL!!! Thanks to all for your prayers - God answered them in a big way today.

The Lord has been so sweet to me through this whole journey. He's brought parent after parent into my life through the Internet, through friends of friends, and now here at the center who are sharing their stories of hope and healing and coming alongside and encouraging me to stay the course and know that we will find the right treatments to bring Seth healing. Even though this journey with Seth has been long and hard - I have been so blessed to make so many new, dear friends who have ministered to my soul and encouraged me, along with the many old friends and family in my life who have been committed prayer warriors for our family. I could not have made it this far down this road without all of you - thank you is not nearly enough to say to express my gratitude to all these people and ultimately to the Lord for bringing them into my life.

During my many hours in the van on the drive down I had some wonderful times of prayer and worship where God ministered to my heart and again affirmed to me that I can dare to hope again. I am believing for a miracle in my little boy's life. That's such a scary thing, I am crying as I write this because I want to believe God is going to work through this intervention and yet there is a part of my soul that is so weary from the many times interventions have not showed any significant progress. But I have to believe that all we have done has brought underlying healing to Seth to prepare him for the next treatment and the next, to bring us to this point.

I've come to a realization through this particular course of treatment that I don't think I'll ever be able to say that I'm done with new treatments at least until I see some measure of healing in Seth's life. It's just part of who I am - I will always be looking for the next promising treatment that could help him - just as I am pursuing excellence and healing in the rest of my life, whether it be in how I feed my family, how I relate in relationships, how I carry out ministry, how I interact with residents at work, and the list goes on. God wired me to be always looking forward and striving for the best in life. At times I've viewed this wiring as a struggle with contentment, but God is teaching me to be content with where I'm at and yet pursue the next thing He places before me. I only pray to stay on the path that God has for me and not go off on my own side journeys.

"Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy...
the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you."
Psalm 33:1-3, 18-22

Blessings to you all!!