When It Rain's It Pours

We use expressions like "when it rains it pours" usually in reference to difficult times. Here in the Panhandle of Texas, when it rains we will rejoice whether it is a sprinkle or a shower. Kids love to play in the rain, adults are afraid to get wet (and mess up their cars or hair or ...). But as I watched it rain last night and continue to rain this morning I thought about how one persons blessing can be another's curse. If we get so much rain that it floods, we see the rain as a curse, if we don't get enough rain then we feel cursed. Many times it comes back to our willingness to look for what God is doing through it all.

Yesterday morning when I got up and checked Josh's temperature it was 103.3. He sat up and got some of the blankets off of him and then took it again. I was still 102.7 so we made the phone calls and headed for the hospital here in Dalhart.

We are very thankful that there is a hospital here that is working so hard to take care of him. They ran blood tests and chest xray and gave him platelets and may do a echo cardiogram today. Dr. Turner said is sounds like he has a slight heart murmur, so they want to check it out. After lots of IV fluids and antibiotics, his kidney's seem to be having problems so they are slowing down the antibiotics and watching kidney function.

His fever went down last night and has been under 99 since midnight. His spirits improved once his headache went away and his fever went down. He was also encouraged that we can stay here in Dalhart as long as they can keep his fever down and they don't have other problems.

For now they are giving him 2 units of blood and will watch his kidneys. They will keep him on IV antibiotics at a lower dose until the tests come back. Keep us in your prayers, we are hoping that they can knock down the infection and we can stay here in Dalhart until the end of the month when we are scheduled to return to MD Anderson.

At times we feel like we are getting a better idea of what to expect and then something new happens and we feel like things are turning upside down again. It is so easy to try to fix things but we are reminded each day that God is in control. This morning in my devotions 

I was reading in Colossians. As Paul writes an encouraging letter to his brothers and sisters in Christ, he also asks them to pray that he would have the opportunity to share the Good News with others that have not heard about God's plan for them.

Colossians 4

 3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.  4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. 

Col. 4:5    Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.  6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. 

It was a reminder that God has a purpose, even in putting Josh back in the hospital. That through this we have the opportunity to live wisely among those who don't yet know Christ. And that through our conversation with them, we will look for opportunities to share how God has blessed us even during this difficult time.

I was a proud dad the other day when we came in for platelets. A nurse was in the room asking Josh about his treatment, and she mentioned how good his attitude was in spite of all that he had been through and he quickly responded how he had seen Gods blessing through this challenging time. 

My prayer for you today is that God will give you the opportunity to speak to those around you about the mysterious and wonderful plan concerning Christ.

Thanks for your continued prayers -- and thank the Lord for the rain we received yesterday and the continued rain today. We feel blessed to be home, even if Josh is in the hospital. He had a steady stream of visitors all day yesterday which was a big encouragement.