Lifted Up

Do you ever feel you just need a boost?  You’d like someone to let you sleep in?  Or better yet, let you sleep in and then bring you coffee in bed?  Or do you simply feel stuck in a pit with your head hung low with no ability to see a few inches in front of your face much less the light at the top?  If so, then this post is for you!

As many of you know, we have been praying for John’s head control for years… ever since his birth almost 3.5 years ago.  We knew it was lacking when he came home from the hospital at 3 months old.  But I remember thinking forward to his first birthday and comforting myself with the idea that, surely, he would have full head control by then as he blew out his birthday candles.  Well, over 3 years later, John’s head control is still not 100%, however it has slowly but surely improved throughout his life. 

In the early days, it was hard to see past the developmental charts listing each milestone to be checked off throughout the first year of life and onward.  Although it remains a daily challenge not to compare, we have grown to appreciate John’s unique timeline and how God is blessing him (and us) through it.   

We are very aware and grateful for John’s overall upward trend in development, yet it can be difficult for us to perceive the incremental changes since we are with John every day.  Oftentimes, it takes a friend who hasn’t seen John in awhile to point out the obvious progress.

God truly does desire to give us the eyes to see.  We were blessed to receive a special gift from Him while on a recent flight (more to come on our trip in the next post).  Ever since John’s 2^nd birthday, it was one of those “salt in the wound” sort of things to have to purchase John a plane ticket when he couldn’t even sit in the seat.

Each ticketed passenger is supposed to be in his or her seat for takeoff.  For this flight, we strapped John into his seat and to our surprise he was able to sit by himself as we propped one of his elbows on the armrest.  Meade and I looked at each other with wide eyes, taking in the weighty miracle before us!  John was sitting in his own seat for the first time on an airplane!  A huge step!  We were and are ecstatic!  Not only that, but he also used his hands to play with a new toy on his lap.

Through John and this big achievement in our lives, the Lord reminded me of the verse we have prayed for John over the years:

“But you are a shield around me, O Lord;
 You bestow glory on me and lift up my head” (Psalm 3:3).

 Meanwhile, you can see how Daniel kept himself entertained on the plane:

Many of my friends have considered me a germaphobe, especially when it came to John… but here Daniel is rolling around on the floor an airplane, probably one of the dirtiest places in the civilized world.  How things change when you simply want a happy child and happy travelers in the nearby seats! 

This verse continues to be our prayer for John.  While it is true for him, God showed me it is also true for me.  The Lord protects and uplifts me.  He takes my cast down head, cups my face, and tips my eyes up to His light.

God is the lifter of our heads.  He scoops us up out of the pit.  He sets our feet upon His rock.  He has given us His rich promises.  Even when we cannot see clearly and we feel stuck at a standstill, we can count on these promises...  That a new song waits to be sung.  

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
 he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
 Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

Psalm 40:1-3