Good?
Yes. Good.
Why?
Romans 8:28
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
"ALL things work together for GOOD" - even when your husband is attacked in Afghanistan. Even when you have to say goodbye to your first 4-legged friend via cell phone. Even when you have to be apart from your babies for weeks.... there's a long list.
"to those who LOVE God"... never for a second have we stopped. Never have we questioned. Our love only grows. It's quite exciting really, and during the times when I'm reminded that I've only just scratched the surface, my love only deepens in trying to comprehend the depth of HIS love for US! ...but more on this another time.
"to those who are called according to His purpose." and His purpose is GOOD.
God uses ALL things to carry out His purpose and in that, I take tremendous comfort. That verse alone grounds me. It gives me peace.
When I think about "His purpose" one direction (of many) that my mind goes, is to where we have been. All of the carefully placed footsteps. All of the pieces to the puzzle. All of the good and the not-so-good that the Lord has woven together to make our lives so rich and beautiful!
50 days have come and gone since the attack, and the Lord is growing me. He's giving me quite a bit to chew on. He's reminded me (again) that He's in control, not me. As if there were any doubt... but gosh it's easy to get carried away and start arranging life how I think it should go. And in hand with that, is learning to take life one day at a time. It sounds simple, but it's easy to get ahead of yourself. There has also been the little matter of asking for and accepting help. EACH of these lessons are working in me and molding me and there are many more to go. Each lesson is like a gift that I'm unwrapping slowly - reading the card, untying the ribbon, admiring the paper... or maybe it's more like those little nesting dolls... inside each doll is a smaller doll... you just keep finding another doll inside the next! Well, compare it to whatever you wish - the Lord keeps teaching, I keep growing... it all works together for good... for HIS purpose.
So, how are we? We're good, and I'm not just saying that.
Josh is good - cleared of any TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and for the time being, cleared of PTSD. (It can always pop up down the road... but he's doing fantastic!) He's doing PT once a week for now - mostly light weight training and stretching. He's healing, and he can feel the difference despite the pain - which is manageable.
We're learning a lot, and we're also passionate about making this transition into the WTB (Warriors in Transition Battalion) easier for wounded warriors. I'm thankful that Josh and I either know where the resources are, or who we need to go to to find out about them. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. There are a lot of very friendly and caring people here, but there are a number of "holes" in the system that shouldn't be there. Hopefully, we can work towards getting the system patched up and make a difference.
The girls are doing well. Addison has just blossomed since starting preschool in August, and while she missed us both while we were away - she hasn't skipped a beat! Hannah followed suit. She just turned 1 on Wednesday, and she's a happy and loving baby. Miss Morgan on the other hand has had a much harder time with things, and she still does even though we've all been back for 4 weeks now. While we were away, she went from sleeping a normal 12 hour night with a 2 hr nap.... to sleeping a total of maybe 5 hours a day while we were away. Thankfully, her sleep is much MUCH better. She still has nights where she'll wake up and wander in, but they're becoming less and less. Her main issue at this point is the separation anxiety she faces when we need to leave her at CYS for Josh's appointments. This was never an issue, and while sadly it has become one, she's SLOWLY getting over it... or rather dealing with it. Continued prayer on that please.
We have been blessed in more ways than I can count. Our every need (even the ones I didn't see as needs at the time) have been provided for. God knew (and knows) what our needs are. He sees them and plots an intercepting course of provision. This journey has brought some amazing people into our lives - I can't wait to share some of these stories with you! From bikers to veterans. From ladies that train bomb sniffing and drug dogs to amputees. ....and how he uses each of them.... each of you... to teach us, to grow us.... and to show us His love through all of this because "...all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
11-1-11 - The day after his last surgery. Still quite out of it, but managing to give us the "thumb's up" ...as if there were any choice!
11-2-11 - His PT for the day was to go outside... amazing to feel the sun on his face. You can't tell here, but I'm wearing shorts. The weather was beautiful!!!
12-6-11 I LOVE this picture. I love that you can see Josh's reflection (as well as many hand prints) on the TV. I love that the girls are all enjoying the tree we were blessed with. And I love that "Family" adorns the wall behind them. Look how far we've been carried!
So, to say the least, life is overwhelming... but we've been overwhelmingly loved and blessed.
