Friday, December 4, 2009

Update 12/4/09 Day 26

Dear friends,

Well, tonite I'm out of gas. I'm so glad I don't have to be some spiritual giant or pretend to be upbeat with you all when I'M NOT. I'm so glad for the words of Romans 14 "...and he will stand, for God is able to make him stand." I have no doubt about His great power to enable me in my great weakness. I even snapped at my darling girl tonite. I was so sorry, and she was so gracious.

The truth is, there is a ton to be thankful for. Most of all, for the love that surrounds me from heaven and here on earth. Believe me, not a moment passes when I don't breath in gratitude and breath out praise. It's just the loneliness of missing my dearest friend, and the sheer exhaustion of the travel, the details, the medical stuff, and being a single parent for a little while. (By the way, I have a truckload of respect for single parents!) There, I've had my pity party, now on to the next...

Hannah continues to emerge from her brain injury. She insulted my driving today, so there's another sign of her true self. Next week she will begin working with tutors from Columbia. How great it is that her geometry teacher will be her math tutor! Now we will begin to see where she is at academically, and how we can help her climb her mountain. All I know is one foot goes in front of the other, and then you do it again.

Stephen and I talked a tiny bit today about some of the permanence of his injuries. Now, we all know any miracle can happen here. But sometimes God works his wonders in damaged vessels, (in fact, He always does that when you consider the condition of the human race), and one of Steve's legs is definitely shorter than the other. His right arm is very badly damaged, and according to Dr. Uhl, he will have to become "left armed". I think he is so happy and relieved to be alive, to be able to watch his kids grow up, that the injuries are not foremost in his mind. As he goes along I trust his Father in heaven to take up his cause and be his help. Throwing a Frisbee to your son is important. You dad's know that. (I can't even throw one with my right hand! My family abuses me for my Frisbee inadequacy all the time.) Now here's the thing: He stood on the one leg for 56 seconds today! Remember Monday? We were at zero seconds. In the words of the dear Helen Flebotte, YOWSERS!

Every day is a gift around here. My heart is so broken for the family somewhere right now experiencing some trauma at the hands of a drunk driver. That's why I'm going to the DWI awareness checkpoint in the morning. I never want anyone else to experience this. One bad decision, and someone is hurt. Or dies. I am now painfully aware of how this works. And I would give my right arm to save somebody else from walking this particular road. Please pray for me as I show my pictures and talk to folks. I'll carry all of you there with me in my heart. Thanks once again to Peter the Great, who made some cards for me with the blog address on them to hand out tomorrow. He was Johnny on the Spot at the last minute. Gotta love that guy!

Most likely tomorrow I'll be feeling more chipper. But who knows? I know either way my Jesus will be with me, and so will you.

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea billows roll.
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul...

I pray it is well with your souls, my dear companions. I love you to bits.

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I love Dr. Uhl--he's worked on me for years, with my crazy violin hands. However, he is occasionally
wrong about the worst-case-scenario (which doesn't upset him in the least!). You never know . . . .

I'm praying for "more than we can ask or think"

Love,

Susan K.

Anonymous said...

Loriann,

Remember the testimony from a girl from Gen church with her legs.

There are still new miracles around every new bend of this pilgrim road and we will travel this road with you through our support and prayers one day at a time.

"In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find the glory
in the power of the cross.
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ Alone!"

Paulette said...

Dear friend,
You made me laugh this morning. Trust me, children never stop criticizing the way a parent drives!!! Keep the faith.
Love you and praying for all of you.

Paulette

Anonymous said...

Good morning Loriann.

Yes, Hannah sounds just like my Abbey with me as far as criticizing your driving goes. Who knew that being berated would ever be something we would rejoice over!

Love you so dearly. Whenever I read entries like yesterday's, I want to move in to your house and take care of everything and everyone for you (my son says I'm a control freak). Being part of your inner circle for such a short time, I am unsure of what I should or should not take upon myself to do - and like I said on the phone last week, there's a fine line between showing concern and being a pain in the rear end! But please know that I am here for you for whatever you need.

Will continue to pray for miracles for Stephen's arm and leg. We know there's nothing HE can't do, but we also know there is grace for all things for those who love Him. Believing both for all of you. Love you BIG TIME.

Mary Ann

Danelle said...

I have been a single parent for 16 months now and it is hard, but with JESUS it is manageable. God gives you great strength when you need it. My church family and friends have been wonderful as well. You will make it through this struggle and be stronger for it, and appreciate the simple things more. I continue to pray for you and your family. God is doing amazing things through your family, and i am excited to see his hand at work everyday.
God Bless!!!

Anonymous said...

Loriann, I just found your site and I'm glad I did. We at Best-Luther fire dept. have a hard time finding out how people are doing after our efforts on an accident scene. everything we hear is all here say. We are having a get together at the fire house tomorrow night and I will be able to pass on how your husband and daughter are doing.
My wife and I were outside the night of the accident and heard the crash. My wife said to me "what was that?" and I replied that was a head on collision. Not 20 second later I went into the house and heard on the scanner that I was right. We were off and running and had to pass the accident to get to the fire house for the truck, so we knew what we were up against as soon as we arrived. My wife and I and other members of Best-Luther work very hard to complete the very difficult extrication in a timely manner. As a past chief of the dept I was very proud of how well we all worked together to free your loved ones.
I will bookmark your site so I can pass on info about progress.
May your new year be brighter
Larry and Cathy Burns

A said...

I was also on the scene of your husband and daughter's accident. I am with the Bruen Rescue Squad and along with Larry and Cathy, it is hard for us to find out how our patient's are doing. I am glad to hear both your husband and daughter are making improvements everyday. I will check this site frequently to check on their progress. Again, I am very happy to hear their conditions are improving.

AF

johandav said...

Dear Larry, Cathy and AF,

How can I ever thank you? Of course I can never pay it back, only forward... Someday, when everyone is in one piece, I'm having a big ole' party for all of you! I'd love to talk to you personally at some point. May God return your blessing to me back to you a hundred times over!

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann