The road to recovery

It may not be fast. It may entail waiting and celebrating minor victories. It may be painful. But the road that God has Kelsey on is a part of her story. Here is another excerpt from Comfort for Troubled Christians, by J.C. Brumfield, which has spoken to us over the past two weeks (thank you, Rob Vestal, for sharing it with us). This is in reference to Romans 8:28 which says, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.”

“‘All things’ not some things, most things, the pleasant things, or the easy things, but ‘all things’. We usually have no difficulty in seeing this truth when all is going well for us, but it includes the hard, bitter, testing things of life as well – ‘all things,’ from the most minute to the most momentous, from the humblest event in daily providence to the crisis hours in grace ‘all things work together for good.’ 

The fact is that the hardest things to bear have in reality been the best for us. No sorrow leaves us where it found us; it either drives us from God or brings us near to Him. … 

‘All things work together,’ not separately or independently, not each thing in itself, but ‘together.’ This is the key to the test. God does not promise all things work for good, or each thing is good in itself, but ‘all things work together for good.’ Many people pick out one experience in life and wave it in the face of God and challenge, ‘I don’t see any good in that.’ No, and God doesn’t say there is, but it is a part of the ‘all things,’ a part of the divine pattern. The separate events of life may seem to be disastrous, but ‘together’ they ‘work for good.’ It takes a blending of the experiences in life to make the ‘together.’”

So, we thank God for using “all things” in this journey. Here are few of the good things which have happened over the past two days since my last post:

-- We have been visited by many friends. Some of them are friends purely due to our common connection in Jesus Christ. A great example of this was a brother and sister who stopped by last night to pray for Kelsey. We had a mini church service in our room, complete with prayer, singing and reading the Word.

-- Kelsey sat up more today than she has in a while. She was able to take a “bath” of sorts – using giant antibacterial wipes to help prevent infection while her port is accessed for the fluid and medicine she is getting through her port. They also used this really cool shower cap, which had shampoo inside the cap.

-- She has gradually been getting a few more calories into her diet each day. Every day is another step in the right direction toward getting her body stronger and healthier.

Many of you have asked about Alexa. She is having a great time with her cousins (Rylen, Layton, Connor and Kylie), with her Uncle Mark and Aunt Holly and with Pop. Today, she got to go swimming with Robyn (Kelsey’s cousin), Layton, Kylie and Connor – which was the highlight of her day. A close second (when I asked her about what she had fun doing today) was pooping. For those of you who may not know, that is always a major praise in Alexa’s life, because there have been some times of what I like to refer to as “poop strikes.” Her comment certainly made me laugh!


We thank you so much for your ongoing prayers. Not a whole lot has changed as far as specific prayers since the previous post, so you can continue to pray for all of those:

-- Pain control. Today was a pretty active day, Kelsey was very ready for her pain medication after each two hour span. As she is able to rest, she can typically go longer between pain medication.

-- Breathing. She said her chest felt a bit heavy again today. When she has difficulty breathing, she begins to get anxious, which makes breathing even more difficult. Pray against the coughing and difficulty breathing which lead to anxiety. She had another x-Ray to determine if the fluid below her lungs is increasing. Pray for wisdom for Dr. Keefer as he reviews that x-Ray to make a determination as to whether further fluid draining would be beneficial.

-- Ongoing control of nausea. Today, since Kelsey ate a bit more solid food, she was actually complaining of some intestinal cramping. Pray her system gets used to having regular food in it and that the medications for nausea and gas are helpful to allow her system to get back into the swing of processing food.

-- Appetite. We pray it would not just be Kelsey knowing she should eat, but having a desire to eat. It would be great for food to start sounding good to her again.

-- Wisdom. For Dr. Keefer to know when Kelsey is ready to go home. For us to know how to proceed with holistic treatments.

-- God to receive glory. A daily increase in Kelsey’s fighting spirit, hope and trust in God. Complete and total earthly healing.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our dear friends Corey and Melinda. We received this news from Corey, “Melinda’s heart stopped beating at 9:25pm on June 24, 2014. My warrior princess, the strongest, most beautiful, most incredible, most faithful, most sweet, most adorable woman I have ever met is in heaven with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for the years of support, and the outpouring of love for Melinda and me. Please pray for our family and me.”

Please do lift up Corey and his family during this incredibly painful time. My heart aches for him and for all of those who have been touched by Melinda’s joyous spirit and perseverance over these past tumultuous years.

In closing, a song which has been very meaningful to me over the past days here in the hospital and which I pray is meaningful to you in your dark times as well. It is Carry Me, by Josh Wilson. Lyrics below the video.

I try to catch my breath
It hasn't happened yet
I'm wide awake in the middle of the night scared to death
So I prayed God, would You make this stop
Father please hold on to me, You're all I've got

Carry me, carry me, carry me now
From my sinking sand to Your solid ground
The only way I'm ever gonna make it out
Is if You carry me, carry me, carry me now

God carry me, carry me, carry me now
Jesus calm my heart
Come near me please
Lord don't let these worries get the best of me
Oh I believe, that You're still here with me
Cause You meant what You said when You said You'd never leave

Carry me, carry me, carry me now
From my sinking sand to Your solid ground
The only way I'm ever gonna make it out
Is if You carry me, carry me, carry me now

God carry me, carry me, carry me now
Carry me
God carry me
Carry me
God carry me

I'm at the end of myself
I know I've got nothing left
Feels like I'm stuck in the valley of the shadow of death
And I've been down here so long
I just can't find my way out
Oh God I don't stand a chance
Unless You carry me now
God carry me now

Carry me, carry me, carry me now
From my sinking sand to Your solid ground
The only way I'm ever gonna make it out
Is if You carry me, carry me, carry me now

God carry me, carry me, carry me now
Carry me now
Carry me now
Carry me now
Carry me now