Happy Easter?
With Easter comes hope and the promise of new life.
This morning I popped down to the NICU floor of the hospital. Parents, grandparents and friends were huddled around small cribs. Some looked tired. Some looked nervous. Some looked pissed off. Some of those parents were simply expressionless. The only difference on the PICU floor was that the beds were bigger but the same expressions could be seen: tired, nervous, pissed off...
It's hard to feel the joy of Easter in the hospital. It's hard to comprehend hope when your daughter is back in the PICU for the fourth time in two years as is the case for one of the mothers near Ira's room. It's hard to comprehend the promise of new life when your newborn is hooked up to machines bigger than the nursery that awaits them at home.
We want hope now. We want new life now. Not in the future. Not in the age to come. Now. Is it too much to ask? Is it too selfish a request?
And yet our requests for the immediate are not met with the replies we desire. And so while we're dissatisfied with God is good all the time kind of theology, those of us who have stared death in the eyes now understand Easter like never before. A glimmer of hope and the promise of new life make their home in us and in our kids.
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Today, we were able to take Ira out to the garden. We hid eggs so that Sophia could hunt them. It was a good time and a bit overwhelming. What you don't see in this picture is Ira's ventilation machine and pulse-ox. ugh! What you do see is Ira wearing his brand new Yankees hat.
the sun is bright
Originally uploaded by joechays.
The only reason Ira's still in the hospital is because of Medicaid. We're waiting for the paperwork to go through so that we can get our nursing in place and get Ira home. Paperwork. Yep, that's what's keeping Ira in the hospital.
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This morning I popped down to the NICU floor of the hospital. Parents, grandparents and friends were huddled around small cribs. Some looked tired. Some looked nervous. Some looked pissed off. Some of those parents were simply expressionless. The only difference on the PICU floor was that the beds were bigger but the same expressions could be seen: tired, nervous, pissed off...
It's hard to feel the joy of Easter in the hospital. It's hard to comprehend hope when your daughter is back in the PICU for the fourth time in two years as is the case for one of the mothers near Ira's room. It's hard to comprehend the promise of new life when your newborn is hooked up to machines bigger than the nursery that awaits them at home.
We want hope now. We want new life now. Not in the future. Not in the age to come. Now. Is it too much to ask? Is it too selfish a request?
And yet our requests for the immediate are not met with the replies we desire. And so while we're dissatisfied with God is good all the time kind of theology, those of us who have stared death in the eyes now understand Easter like never before. A glimmer of hope and the promise of new life make their home in us and in our kids.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, we were able to take Ira out to the garden. We hid eggs so that Sophia could hunt them. It was a good time and a bit overwhelming. What you don't see in this picture is Ira's ventilation machine and pulse-ox. ugh! What you do see is Ira wearing his brand new Yankees hat.
the sun is bright
Originally uploaded by joechays.
The only reason Ira's still in the hospital is because of Medicaid. We're waiting for the paperwork to go through so that we can get our nursing in place and get Ira home. Paperwork. Yep, that's what's keeping Ira in the hospital.
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posted by jch at
1:35 PM
7 Comments:
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Can't wait for that moment when Ira goes home again...when Medicaid keeps up their end of the bargain.
Such a sweet Easter picture of your two precious children.
He is risen, indeed! :)
We know what to pray for. Paperwork. We want that precious baby boy home with his family, too. A very important day is just around the corner for him, is it not?
May God's wisdom and strength continue to guide you. Find comfort in the small things. In anything. And let me tell you this; you amaze me. Parents who have not gone through something like you have can not understand. I know I can not even begin to comprehend what life must be like and how frustrating and scary things must get.
Fresh Beginnings. Spring. Faith. Strength. Ira. Home. Soon....
this is cool guys, praise God that your family is together. May God continue to make every day a new beginning. Ira and Sophia look great. Have an awesome spring.
Joe: My wife and I pray for Ira every day and for his parents, too. My heart aches when I think about all that the 4 of you have been through.
One request: I am not used to the kind of language you use. In the circles of friends and associates I have, words like "sucks" and "pissed off" are not used. I am shocked that you use them. I know we are to be all things to all people to try to win them over, but does that mean we can't find language more appropriate?
I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate the language you use, Joe. The church needs more leaders who are willing to speak an authentic Word that often comes through most poignantly in such "inappropriate" language. Our prayers are with you as always. shalom.
Krister: Greetings! I once threw passes to your father on an ACU intermural field. We were quite a force.
I guess we will agree to disagree. I have never thought inappropriate language was "poignant". Instead, it (1) shows an inability to use proper language, and (2) tells the world that, in fact, we are one of them.
I wonder where you would draw the line. Sexual language? Too late. Apparently you think it's appropriate since you answered my comment the way you did. Profanity? Oh, please don't say it's okay.
Our lifestyle, which includes language, should be markedly different from the world, avoiding the "very appearance of evil." If our speech is more than the yeas and nays, we just blend in. Whatever points you may get for communicating in a way the world understands are quickly lost...as the lost one wonders what else about you is just like them.
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