Monday, July 5, 2010
Life's Ups and Downs...
Tweet
The last few days have brought a roller coaster of emotions, and while I know we've all had such experiences, I just wanted to write a share a little about what my family is going through.
My older sister, Deidre, had her firstborn - a girl - last week. This is the first child of that generation for my family, making me an uncle for the first time, my parents grandparents for the first time, and all of us very excited.
(The pic on the left is of my brother-in-law, Alex, with his first child - little Skylar!)
Unfortunately, Skylar has struggled to keep food down and was even a little jaundice for a few days. So we were very excited to read on Sunday morning that Skylar went home. She was doing better, eating, and seemed to be in the clear. Skylar was born about 2 weeks early, unexpected, with a few birth complications. But overall the hope was that she was doing very well. Until Sunday night, when she was unresponsive and still losing weight. My dad called to tell me that they had taken her back to the emergency room, and were preparing to do a spinal tap - an extreme procedure on a one-week old infant. We were very concerned for her health, and when I asked my dad the severity of the situation, he said he simply didn't know.
Then Monday morning the report came that Skylar was improving. She was processing nutrients through an IV and was peeing. A good sign for a newborn :)
Up and down. Up and down. Emotions are carried by the events of the day. Thoughts run in a million directions. And this isn't even my child! I can't imagine what my sister or my parents have been going through. I know for a fact that my sister has slept only a handful of hours in the past week.
Throughout all of this, it has been a privilege to have the support and concern of a vast network of friends. Quick posts on Twitter/Facebook, a few text messages, and we know that there are dozens - perhaps even hundreds - of people praying around the world for our family. We sent out the distress signals Sunday night, and Monday morning Skylar is doing better. I don't want to take that for granted and discredit the work of prayer and God's blessing upon little Skylar's life.
But what about when things don't always go the way you want? When the unexpected downturns take you by surprise? Wrestling with God isn't easy; and taking on the challenges and surprises of life can make a person ask more questions about God than directly to God.
Recently, Kellye and I have been reading and talking about the doctrine of God's "holiness." In short, some theologians say that God can do whatever he wants, because he is God. In situations like this, I don't know whether to process the events as that God is making decisions and taking actions as he chooses, and he is Holy, so I just have to accept it. In that case, God is "above" us.
Or perhaps God is "beside" us, upset that Skylar is suffering, and in a way he is suffering along with her. This "beside us" God is more of a comfort to me, but can also be just as frustrating, because why wouldn't this God use more power to help her?
These are the many questions that bombard our minds during the ups and downs of life. I don't have a simple quip to wrap up this post, because I'm still feelings the whiplash effects of the last few days.
Your prayers, advice, and wisdom are always appreciated.
The last few days have brought a roller coaster of emotions, and while I know we've all had such experiences, I just wanted to write a share a little about what my family is going through.My older sister, Deidre, had her firstborn - a girl - last week. This is the first child of that generation for my family, making me an uncle for the first time, my parents grandparents for the first time, and all of us very excited.
(The pic on the left is of my brother-in-law, Alex, with his first child - little Skylar!)
Unfortunately, Skylar has struggled to keep food down and was even a little jaundice for a few days. So we were very excited to read on Sunday morning that Skylar went home. She was doing better, eating, and seemed to be in the clear. Skylar was born about 2 weeks early, unexpected, with a few birth complications. But overall the hope was that she was doing very well. Until Sunday night, when she was unresponsive and still losing weight. My dad called to tell me that they had taken her back to the emergency room, and were preparing to do a spinal tap - an extreme procedure on a one-week old infant. We were very concerned for her health, and when I asked my dad the severity of the situation, he said he simply didn't know.
Then Monday morning the report came that Skylar was improving. She was processing nutrients through an IV and was peeing. A good sign for a newborn :)
Up and down. Up and down. Emotions are carried by the events of the day. Thoughts run in a million directions. And this isn't even my child! I can't imagine what my sister or my parents have been going through. I know for a fact that my sister has slept only a handful of hours in the past week.
Throughout all of this, it has been a privilege to have the support and concern of a vast network of friends. Quick posts on Twitter/Facebook, a few text messages, and we know that there are dozens - perhaps even hundreds - of people praying around the world for our family. We sent out the distress signals Sunday night, and Monday morning Skylar is doing better. I don't want to take that for granted and discredit the work of prayer and God's blessing upon little Skylar's life.
But what about when things don't always go the way you want? When the unexpected downturns take you by surprise? Wrestling with God isn't easy; and taking on the challenges and surprises of life can make a person ask more questions about God than directly to God.
Recently, Kellye and I have been reading and talking about the doctrine of God's "holiness." In short, some theologians say that God can do whatever he wants, because he is God. In situations like this, I don't know whether to process the events as that God is making decisions and taking actions as he chooses, and he is Holy, so I just have to accept it. In that case, God is "above" us.
Or perhaps God is "beside" us, upset that Skylar is suffering, and in a way he is suffering along with her. This "beside us" God is more of a comfort to me, but can also be just as frustrating, because why wouldn't this God use more power to help her?
These are the many questions that bombard our minds during the ups and downs of life. I don't have a simple quip to wrap up this post, because I'm still feelings the whiplash effects of the last few days.
Your prayers, advice, and wisdom are always appreciated.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment