Daddy: 💜 It is hard to believe that it has been twenty four years since I hurried out of the hay field to start getting ready to marry the love of my life. Sometimes it feels like it was just a few years ago, but we have too many kids for that to be possible. I look back over the past twenty four years and cant think of but about two major decisions that I might have made just a little differently, but marriage, kids and priorities are not among that list. In our twenty four years I have been very intentional on raising my family to be doers in all aspects of their life and not just hearers only. Yes there have been sacrifices in getting this done and I realize that I have two boys to get finished (such as finishing a horse). I know that we never truly finish with our kids and frankly, I wouldnt want it any other way. Dayna and I have a very close relationship with each one of our kids. We have let each one of them live toward their strengths while being careful to not put anyone of them in a box and push them to fit a mold that we might desire. Yes there have been guidelines and direction that have kept them grounded spiritually and I believe that has contributed to them wanting to stay grounded with family. For sure their work ethic comes from a long line of family who knows how to work. That would be from any line of family that you would want to look at: Nichols, Goodroe, Cargill, Howlett and many before them. When I think of my good ol days, growing up, I think of the long hot days of baling hay with my dad and brothers. Reece and I would pull hay equipment over Nacogdoches county, baling hay for people. That was before any of us had a driver license. I think back of the days riding round and round plowing ground, getting ready to plant corn or peas. I think back to the days of working cows. Baling off into brush, with Robert Smith, to get a hard headed cow and coming out with a shredded shirt and cut up arms. There are many stories, but those were fun times. I want my kids to think back on the adventures of their childhood and be able to grin, and their kids ask them what they are grinning about. However we are not in a fun time now. Each one of us will look back on these 65 days and counting, with sadness or maybe tenderness might be a better word. Either way, I know that my heart will hurt when I think of May 30th thru August of 2014. I told Miranda that I was taking Dayna to get away for a night in order to give Dayna a beak but also to celebrate 24 years of marriage. I realized my wording was all wrong when Miranda broke down crying and said take me away from here too! Talk about scrambling for a soft explanation! I want to. We are all ready to get out of here. The encouraging thing that I told Miranda, is that, THAT day is coming. There is going to be a day soon that she walks out of here and I can take her away. She is at 100% saturation with only 3 liters of oxygen! One lung is on water seal, one is on suction and neither are showing any sign of leaking. There is a certain amount of fear to trust that the lungs will hold, but I am choosing to continue believing that her lungs will heal normally. When we look at what she has been through, today, we are dealing with a different set of problems that are not nearly as serious as the problems of two weeks ago. God is healing her body. It is not easy on her. She is gaining just a little weight. Her muscles are slowly coming back. Progress is slowly being made. As I was writing this,a close friend of mine, texted me this verse: 1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. We know that God will get the glory. As a family, we have acknowledged this fact and none of us would tell anyone differently. The hard part of this verse is when it says a little while. We havent learned what a little while is. We know what we wish it meant! But Gods timing isnt our timing. The verse never says that He will restore us to where we were, either. Things will never be the same. In Mirandas case, she physically may never be able to breath the way she once did. On the flip side, she could. God only knows His plan for her physically. For each of us, the pain and suffering of watching Miranda go through this, has beyond softened us up. We know that He continues to use Miranda and her situation. We know that His plan is perfect. We are continuing to learn that whatever OUR plans were may not be that important. Today is a good day. Miranda is doing her pt now. She is getting stronger each day. We definitely have learned to be excited about the good days.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 16:39:09 +0000
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