Prayer Warriors,
Praise the Name of the Lord. I savor the defense God writes in Job 38-40 of Him being the creator and sustainer of all things. Regardless of old earth/new earth the greater truth is that it’s God’s earth. What marvelous, thoughtful, omnipresence is constantly artistically on display in the creation’s causes and effects. The Lord knows what’s going on, when it goes down and where; so much so that He knows when even a mountain goat gives birth.
Suffice to say, that one day in the year of our Lord 2014 He looked around at all the culmination of His creative hand and felt that His work wasn’t complete without a sweet little Anna Elizabeth. You see God didn’t create Anna before March 2nd 2014 because He knew He needed to invent and reveal ultrasounds, emergency C section deliveries, neonatal medicine, intubation, shunt brain surgeries, MRI’s, G-tube feeding, saliva reducing medicines etc...
It doesn’t stop there, God waited for insurance programs and governmental mercies to develop to a point where equipping our family with what we need to take care of Anna doesn’t mean financial devastation or denial of needed care. Praise His holy name!! Anna’s providence from God reveals great grace and mercy from His hand! God knew all along that Anna would be born with such severe handicaps causing us to activate our faith by depending on Him. Anna is born for such a time as this. We worship our God who has given us so many years of hope and love with our firstborn.
Many parents of disabled children “come to grips” or “have a peace” about the trajectory of their child, and that is a mercy. However, my heart’s appetite for God’s complete healing of Anna only increases. Not as a wedge of frustration between me and Him, nor as an idol to desire ahead of the Lord. Rather my fatherly desire to see my daughter well and optimized comes because God promises it to me by His Word -in His timing. Therefore, I simply want the fullness of His Word to come to pass. We are His children, receiving His blessing and good gifts. Seeking to do life His way. Therefore, couldn’t we asked to be treated exceptionally through His favor? And should Anna be healed tonight; all anyone would say is “the God of the Anna Currat is the living God!”
If Jesus already healed Anna, I would not have the testimony of His equipping nor would I continue writing these updates. Experientially, if Jesus had already healed Anna I wouldn’t experience moments like the following:
As I sat in church this past weekend in front of me was a grown woman with apparent physical and mental disabilities nothing as severe as Anna, she was able to greet us and listen well to the service. As we all worshipped, I observed such an exaltation to her Savior through her continuous arm gestures and sway of her being. I’m sure to the untrained eye she was a distraction, but I knew some of her gestures were a mix of voluntary and involuntary. Her countenance was that of adoration to her Savior, it was as if every song we sang was her favorite song. What an eager approval of exalting Jesus she was. This type of spiritual wisdom and maturity flowed freely from her, she was active in praise, in communion with the Spirit.
While observing this lady and joining her in song before the Lord, we sang “When we arrive on eternity’s shore where death is just a memory and tears are no more. We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring, /Your bride will come together and we’ll sing “Your beautiful.”” The thought came to me that Anna is eager for Jesus like this lady is, then a vision of Anna running around on eternity’s shore, standing, welcoming, singing as the wedding bells ring. What a glorious vision of God’s goodness for Anna. Completely removed from disability and suffering forever.
The lady in front of me at church had no idea that I carry with me the disability of my daughter, she will never know how she encouraged my heart until the day the Lord tells her. God placed that disabled worshipper in front of me as a glimpse into what Anna’s heart is like when we worship at home and all we hear from her is coos and hums as we sing “intelligible” words. God does not reject the praise of the disabled.
Praises:
-Praise and glory to God who brought us through 5 weeks or so without any overnight nursing.
-Praise, I’ve been meaning to write and ask for provisions for nurses, and since then God has brought nurse Emily to Anna. She is a brand new nurse, this is her first case. So we are excited at what God will do through Anna and Emily. May he bond their hearts and find a friend for Anna.
-Praise God for the Body of Christ helping meet our needs. Two ladies Nicki and Deb, from our church have been supporting and caring for our kids to give Lindsey a break while I’m at work.
-Praise, to our surprise received a wonderful report from Anna’s pediatric eye doctor. She is the one that did surgery on her eye muscles over two years ago. The Doctor noticed no degeneration of ability, no need for a stronger prescription. Both of those things the doctor expected to see. So despite Anna’s two vision diagnosis, Anna continues to use her eyes to engage with world, its just difficult to say how much.
-Praise for losing two baby teeth naturally
Please Pray for:
-Anna to learn to communicate through an eye gaze device. Given this great report about her eyes, we got the endorsement of the eye doctor to try an eye-gaze communicative device. O how we long for Anna to express needs and wants beyond crying and smiling. We have just started this.
-Anna to stop chewing her hand. There are calluses and torn skin all around her right index finger, we have wonderful guards (thanks grandma) but they can’t keep up.
-Secretion management. Anna is cutting some molars right now so the saliva is complicating her sleep and drooling excessively.
-God to show us the best lift for Anna that our insurances will buy. She is just about 50 pounds and the most common lift takes up so much room. It is quickly becoming a need.
-Simon and Renee to allow their
mother to engage Anna. They can go up to mom anytime. But we have to go to
Anna, these dynamics show up every day and at times Lindsey is discouraged that
she didn’t do what she wanted with Anna. Please pray for that one on one time.
Bless you!!
Nic, for Lindsey, Anna, Simon, and Renee
