If you’re in a bad mood, beware: this post might ruin it by reminding you how good God is.
My mom is loving her new place! She has a whole team working with her and helping her build her lungs back up. Throughout the week (M-F) a physical therapist and an occupational therapist come to help her do various exercises like modified squats, upper body weight exercises, walking, and two-finger pushups while gauging the effect on her oxygen.
(Just kidding on the two-finger pushups…in case you don’t know me and how hilarious I am.)
She has been doing very well keeping her oxygen levels high while being able to slowly increase her activity. She gets to have visitors! My dad and grandmother have both been able to come and play board games, wash hair, bring fresh linens, and help her feel like a person instead of a hospital patient.
On Saturday she did three full sets of upper body exercises and walked 25 steps! She was also able to take a nap on her side under her own quilt in her own clothes while my dad sat nearby. <—That right there is a sentence full of blessings! AND she got flowers from my cousin Holly that remind her of her garden at home.
I can say firsthand that this week has been transformative in my mom’s health and morale. We can talk on FaceTime easily and she sounds like my Mama. God is so good.
And hey, let’s talk more about how good God is. My mom got sick just a week into her new school semester and was worried she would have to lose this whole semester, but one of her professors reached out to check on her and prayed with her over the phone. He also said that he is giving her an ‘Incomplete’ for the class which means she has until the end of the spring semester to complete her coursework without re-enrolling. He is planning to reach out to her other professor about doing the same for that class.
More? Ok! The Counseling Pastor she supports, Bret Legg, is handling everything himself including answering her counseling emails and checking phone messages aside from his regular schedule. The Lord is freeing up my mom’s time and mind to work on her recovery as well as the work he is doing in her heart. He is so faithful to do that work in all of us, isn’t he?
(Edited to add: just in case it is unclear: God has been good this whole time. And by whole time, I mean all of eternity. He has never not been good. Every aspect of my mom’s journey and all others are etched with evidence of God’s mercy and goodness, whether they felt good to us at the time or not. But that’s another post for another day.)
So here’s how you can pray:
-That my mom would be patient with her recovery. Seriously. She has said it like 40 times. I think she wants you guys to pray for that. She has a tendency to try to push her limits instead of listening to her body and stopping (exercises, etc.) when she needs a break.
-For Bret Legg who I mentioned above. That God would give him help and rest as he tries to do two jobs. Also PRAISE for his existence.
-THANK the Lord that my mom is enjoying this breath of freedom and energy at the new facility. Thank him for the blessing of her medical team’s care and personalities. Thank him for visitors and flowers and blankets (and maybe thank him for those things in your life if you’ve been taking them for granted).
-THANK the Lord for all the wonderful people (like you!) sending my mom encouraging messages, Scripture, adventurous pictures, etc.! She is truly truly blessed by it. Keep it up!
-THANK the Lord for the work he is doing in my mom’s heart. She is gushing about the Lord’s goodness, and it is contagious! 🙂
For those of you who stuck around until the end, I shall reward you with a tour of my mom’s temporary home. Over here you can see the living room/dining room where my mom plays board games, eats, enjoys stimulating conversations with VARIOUS guests, and…reads…maybe?
Step this way to see my mom’s bedroom complete with sunshine-dried quilt styled by Suella.
There’s also a bathroom but you can’t see that.
This completes the tour.
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