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Thursday, September 12, 2013

4 Years!


“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
-Psalm 77:11-12


This week we celebrate 4 YEARS of seizure freedom for sweet John (and for our family)!  We are overjoyed!  I know I have said this before… but when you go from desperately counting minutes between seizures and holding on to hours and days, counting YEARS is nothing short of a miracle!


Over the past 4.5 years of John’s life, we have learned to celebrate the big and little milestones.  Birthdays, church dedication, last day in the hospital in April 2009, seizure-freedom anniversaries, medication-freedom anniversaries, encouraging test results, first egg at Waffle House, etc.  Our boy was not supposed to live, much less be as healthy as he is.  He has his challenges but, truly, he is thriving and couldn’t radiate more joy. 

What we have gained through the trials and triumphs is the great import of recalling the works of the Lord.  Pausing to celebrate both the weighty and also the seemingly insignificant events.  These markers of our lives.  These causes for gratitude.  

And gratitude is always significant, pointing us to Jesus and carrying us forward a step further than we once felt capable.  In my mini-paraphrase of the inspiration found in Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts, gratitude leads to the miracles of joy, peace, and healing.  By celebrating life’s small and big miracles with a grateful heart, we are given an increased vision to perceive even more of the Lord and His very incarnation woven into so many aspects of our days.

A friend’s grandmother recently wrote the following in an email as she reflected upon her own chronic tragedy involving one of her children in her early years: “I learned rapidly that misery is a choice.  Joy, on the other hand, is a gift already lying within me...always mine to claim...at any moment of my day.”  Oh, the great wisdom of years spent walking with the Lord!

In the Old Testament, God’s followers set up ebenezers (often a pile of rocks) to commemorate God’s work in a particular place or in a particular way.  In doing this, they gave glory to God and created tangible evidence to help them recall God’s provision.

Do you have ebenezers or journals or moments you can look back to, that help you remember what God has done in your life?  I know I need to look at mine more frequently, because gratitude, joy, and remembrance of God’s faithfulness ARE each a decision.  And when we allow room to see our blessings, they do begin to take over even the darkest places.

Here are a few of our ebenezers and memories:

The picture our friends signed at John's one year seizure-freedom party!

A framed ebenezer dear friends gave us on John's first seizure-freedom anniversary.

A mini Prosecco toast to celebrate John's PERFECT MRI and EEG in Boston on October 20, 2010.
Last year's celebration... a cookie cake is always a must!
And a future ebenezer from the cake we served at John's luncheon following his church baby dedication in August, 2009.  This cake traveled from our freezer in Virginia to our freezer in Georgia.... and I know it will be the best cake we will ever taste when the time comes to celebrate!

“Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’”
-Nehemiah 8:10

3 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary!!

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  2. Congratulations Stones! What a happy occasion to celebrate. What a lesson I needed to hear today. Love from VA BCH.

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