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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Grandpa's Home!

It has been a long 6 weeks since my dad had a stroke on Mother's day.  He has been in the hospital since then...UCK!  He finally came home this past Friday.  We are all so glad he is out of there ...and let's just say...so is he!  One of his first things to do was to walk outside, sit in the sunshine, and watch his grandkids eat popsicles, color on the sidewalk, and swim in the kid pool.  I think that was much better than watching tv in an ugly hospital room anyday!



Now that I think about it, maybe watching kids eat popsicles when your a diabetic might have been cruel.   Ah...I am sure dad was okay with it...he didn't complain.  LOL

My dad has a very, very, very long road of recovery ahead of him.  Everything is a struggle and a challenge.  He pretty much lost half of his body.  Therapy has already made huge improvements in his mobility and speech, thank the Lord. 

Sometimes (well a lot of the time)  so many things we are faced with seem way to big and out of our control...and maybe that is just the plain truth of it.  But, God is bigger and He has everything in His control.  We are not promised an easy life; but we are promised all the good things that God gives His children to live and flourish in that life.  We will trust in those promises and rest in Christ!

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

The past weeks have been some of the hardest days of my family's life.  Daily I am reminded of God's beautiful grace and mercy.  I have never known it like I have until now.  God is always chasing after us, don't let anyone tell you different.  He loves us and cares for us so very deeply.  God's heart is so vast, we will never truly understand the depths of His great love for each and everyone of us.  In my post I wrote three days after his stroke, I shared a verse that God had shown me before our lives took a very different direction.  In fact, I had been waiting to blog about that verse many days before my dad's stroke..I just didn't know what to write with it.  I know now that the verse wasn't for my blog...it was for my life. 

Psalm 116
1 I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
2 Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!
Lord,  Thank you for allowing us to have our dad!  You bend down to us and hear our cry.  You have shown us all what true grace,  forgiveness, mercy, redemption, healing, and love looks like.  Please, continue to allow those same beautiful virtues flow out of us into the world we live in for as long as we live.  May we never take for granted every precious day that You alone give us... for each and every day is a gift.  Help us to not waste that gift.  You are the only one who can give us true JOY!

Today and as long as He gives me breath...
I will...
GET JOY!
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2 comments:

  1. Annette Douglas/NeuenswanderJuly 4, 2012 at 2:25 AM

    I had the great priviledge last summer of getting to spend time with Jim on his trips to Bentonville. He was my youth leader at Forest Hills in Farmington and his life and testimony, (and great pancakes fixed for us kids on camp-outs with him and Nancy) made an impact on my life forever. Jim, your recovery so far has been a miraculous one and I know God has great blessings in store for you as your recovery continues. Love you and Nance, Annette Douglas

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  2. Rohit JainJuly 4, 2012 at 12:18 PM

    Beautifully written Christina! In all the years I have worked with Jim I have thoroughly enjoyed his company and spirit. He is such a wonderful person, caring, and generous. I am so glad that he will continue to share all that with us and provide us the privilege of his company and his great sense of humor (even though it is remotely with some of us). With his will power and determination, I am sure he will get a lot better. Our prayers and wishes are with him! Please keep up with these blogs since they not only provide us with his progress but also are so wonderful and touching to read. If you are not already pursuing this, you should consider becoming a writer :-)

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