Prayers for our little guy today. Elijah will go to the hospital this morning to begin what will be the most physically taxing 3-4 week stretch left in his treatment, perhaps the most taxing. He will start the day with Methotrexate injected into his spinal and brain fluid through a Lumbar Puncture, then will check in overnight as he receives a liter of a chemo called Cytoxin, he will also start a series of injections called ARAC that wipe out his immune system and kill his blood counts like nothing else, and he will begin a new oral chemotherapy called Thioguanine. Doctors have told us to expect him to be low on energy, needful of blood, and much more prone to catching sickness over this month. I would also ask you pray for my dad, Dan. On Tuesday he had surgery to place a pacemaker-type device on his back. If its successful he will have a followup surgery this Friday to make it permanent. This would be great news, as it would alleviate the current need for a much more invasive and risky back surgery. The Holland family... keeping the medical community employed for generations! Over this past week Ive had the joy of working with a family that has given me real reason to think about how blessed I have been over my life. We like to perpetuate this idea in America of the self-made man. As Ive encountered a family with none of the following, Im so deeply greatful for how God has built and shaped my family to be able to thrive through the midst of all of this: I have a mom and dad who love one another and are still married. I have two sets grandparents who both set examples of faithfulness with over fifty years of marriage, my wife has the same, only one of her sets of grandparents has made it over 70 years. Both of our families love Jesus, and have modeled that our entire life. None are addicted to substances. Because weve had that modeled, weve never battled substance abuse. We have genuine friends and incredibly helpful family, who are also in a stable place in life, who not only want to help but know how to help. We have a church family so big and loving, who actively take care of us. We have a home, and actual home. We know where we are going to be sleeping tonight and tomorrow night and next week. We have vehicles to transport us. I only walk somewhere for exercise. We have food, and a refrigerator to store our food. When our kid gets sick, because of the families we were raised in, we have the education, training, and connections to know what to do and where to go. Jesus is our hope for eternity and help for today, and this has been the most natural disposition of our life, because it was modeled to us by a thousand people over every year and circumstance in my life. I could go on and on, but the point Im trying to make is that everything I listed is a foreign concept for people that live in our community. Not just hypothetical people, but actual people. I have met a family that has NONE of the things I listed above, but Ive also seen how God uses His people and His family and His truth to bring hope where there has been none. Please pray for our family and our little guy today, but also perhaps take stock of your own life, and count the insane amount of blessings you normally dont even notice because they are so common in your life. I know those reading this dont have every detail in common that Ive listed above, but the majority of my friends and family have several of them. We are an incredibly blessed people, and weve been blessed to be a blessing. Look out today for how God wants to use you as a blessing to others!
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 12:20:00 +0000
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