More grace

With no dramatic changes physically, Susan continues to improve mentally these days. She’s now more fully engaged in what’s happening around her, has better alertness and memory, and is more able to track the family’s activities from day to day without help. This kind of progress is hard to measure day to day but is obvious compared to weeks or months ago. Those who don’t see her daily tend to notice her improvements right away. Ever aware of God’s gracious hands upon us, I suspect the clot from January’s hemorrhage has continued to clear. We’ll know more about the clot and tumor when we return to UCLA next week for a scheduled MRI and oncology visit.

One highlight this week was our return together to Mayfair HS for open house on Wednesday evening. It’s been two years since Susan’s been able to be on campus for these kinds of events. We used her wheelchair and were able to zip around campus and see most of the boys’ teachers after catching one of Adam’s final choir concerts during a pizza fundraiser. In spite of a few lapses here and there, we received encouraging reports on Austin and Adam. Having feedback about their smarts, character, and positive influence on their peers makes us deeply joyful and increases our confidence about their transition to adulthood. They’re good kids – we’re thankful. I always remember Dr Dobson’s comment that adolescence for a family is like going through river rapids. You need to hang on and keep everyone in the boat. There are calmer waters ahead.

As I was summarizing our situation with some friends this week, I kept feeling grateful to God for the gift of hope during hard times. I believe it’s the great difference maker for us. It’s just hard for lousy circumstances to crush you when you know you belong to God. As I shared with one friend, I'm so impressed by the goodness of God and how He uses the challenges and tragedies of this broken world to help us grow in faith, character, and appreciation for the basics of life. We learn these lessons best by walking the path of suffering in faith and trusting the one who guides us with a reliable hand. It still sounds strange to say, but there is preciousness in suffering. The process is so much more important than the outcome. I will never regret what we're going through.