February 2014

2/10/14(Rachel Hanson) "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10 ABUNDANT life... I remember when David was just a few days into his journey after his accident. He was still in a coma, still on total life support, still showing signs of the most severe kind of brain injury...I prayed that if God would give David life, that he would have a quality life and not be stuck inside a body and brain that didn't work. Not just "life", a few electrical impulses in the brain maintaining a status just above clinical brain death, but abundant life, a life that could be shared with others, a life that could be enjoyed, a testimony of healing. Sometimes it doesn't FEEL abundant. It doesn't feel like we're free to enjoy life like we used to. But we are so grateful for the quality of life the Lord has given David. I think we like to think that abundant life would mean that we are free from the burdens of health problems, financial problems, all that this creation groans under but Jesus has promised us abundant life. How can we find abundance in what seems to be a lack? David and I were reading in Matthew 19 about the young man who had kept all the commandments and had many possessions but he just couldn't let go of his possessions for the poor, to advance the kingdom of God. As I looked up "possessions" in the Bible, it seems to have a connection with the thought of multiplying or reproducing. A Jewish man was known as a wealthy man if he had an abundance of livestock. The Jews sought after material goods as a sign of God's blessing on them. But we, as Christians, should be seeking spiritual blessing, our eyes fixed above, our life wrapped up in the advancement of the kingdom of God for His gain and glory. We have been invited to His banqueting Table, invited to share in His joy, look for "that blessed hope". We have so much in Christ if we just LOOK UP! David is getting "kicked out" of occupational and speech therapies this week. It doesn't seem fair. He has been doing great and making progress. There's so much more to do. It's scary to be let out of therapy for the first time in a year and a half. We're on our own. We have to figure out how to fill David's life. How do we live "normal" again? How do we integrate back into the world? I've been looking into different options to try to keep David's progress going. Some options are working out together at the YMCA, starting equine therapy, starting training with a service dog, getting out to do more door to door in the spring... To say the least, we feel a little unprepared to jump into real life again. David wants to text and email and register for a college class...normal stuff. We're working on it but when is the rest of the world going to accept David back? When can we feel like we're a part of the community again?