LG a year later

One year ago today I wrote this post.  Lydia Grace was in the 2nd day of what ended up being a 3 day long brain surgery, and the prognosis was completely unknown.  It was one of the hardest, scariest, faith-building seasons of my life, not to mention its effects on Brandon and Anna (Lydia's parents).

12/18/2011

12/18/2011

Today, Lydia is a very healthy, incredibly happy 1 year-old.  She smiles more than any kid I've ever seen, loves to cuddle, is always trying to figure out how you do things and then master it herself... the hospital staff themselves testified to the fact that she is unquestionably a miracle.

12/18/2012

12/18/2012

Christmas took on new meaning for a lot of us last year, and reminded us of how "not merry" it is for countless people.  As Brandon and I would walk through the halls of the pediatric ICU praying for the young children and their families, tears would roll down my cheeks realizing that while the holidays as our culture has created them (parties, presents, Santa, etc.) would likely be at least to some extent ruined forever, the holidays as depicted in Scripture as the human birth of the Son of God come to save us from the penalty of our atrocious sins... this Jesus who came near to dwell with us, Emmanuel... and then left so that the Spirit could come and dwell in us... it was like the tears of those sitting with their beloved young children were watering the seeds God was planting through Brandon and Anna's relationships with the families, through our prayers, through my parents' Bible study coming to carol...

Don't let our consumeristic culture steal the magnificence of Christmas from you this year.  Seek to remember- for yourself, for your family, for others- what this time is actually all about.  And please pray for those who aren't spending Christmas celebrating because frankly there isn't much to celebrate... pray that somehow they would catch a glimpse of something deeper than their horrific circumstances that is worth celebrating- namely the fulfillment of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, come to take on the sins of the world.