Henry's surgery was a success! The doctors "untethered" his spine, and along the way there were no complications! We do have a lot of medical care to attend to, but we can at least be home! Which is where we are now 😬

We are beyond grateful for the continued care at CHOP, and more importantly for God's gracious hand over our son's life.  My entire life--all thirty years of it--I have often judged the Israelites so harshly for many things, but today this one aspect is hitting me: how did they walk right through a SEA on DRY ground, have  both a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud to lead them through the wilderness, annnnd yet a few moments later they pressured Aaron to build a golden image to worship instead of the one true God who had actually led them out of Egypt? Aaron even states, "These are your gods who brought you out of Egypt."

Where am I going with this?

I see the miracles in my son's life. I've witnessed how good God has been to us. And yet I still doubt. I truly used to believe if I only saw some of these huge incredible things that happened, like what God did in the Old Testament or the miracles of the New Testament through Jesus, that it would be a piece of cake to follow and fully obey God the rest of my life. However, now I'm actually living these miracles. What I have learned is that you still need faith, and you still need that closeness with Jesus. I know during some of these times the closeness has waned, and at other times it was only by God's goodness we made it through.

One thing that then hits me is in the book of Joshua: we see a little bit different of an approach. After crossing into the Promised Land, the Israelites are instructed to have each tribe pick up a stone from the center of the Jordan River and place it on the other side as a monument. This is so that anytime in the future, when the children walk past and see a heap of stones, the older generation can tell them how God stopped the Jordan from flowing so Israel could walk across on dry land (just like when He led them out of Egypt). 

I don't know what should be made as a reminder for us of God's goodness through all this, but I know this much: it will be something simple so that we can share God's favor towards our family. It will be something that points us back to these days, walking through our trials, begging God to move mountains, and praising Him for all He has done.