Soaking in the Son

 

Dear Prayer Team,

I hope as your summer finds leisure time, refreshing, and time with the Lord that the Spirit would call to mind Anna and her many needs. Thank you for your burden of prayer for her and us!!! Pray with us as we navigate some pivotal things. We have prayed that the Lord would reveal to us the things we need to do to bless Anna with the best care for all her needs. God impressed on us a few things:

1. Therapy in the home has become challenging considering the homeschooling and everything else that goes on. The days play out as either Anna gets all our attention or we set her up with a toy or device and check in every 30 minutes, we want to strike more of a balance. We have been doing this for about 6 years now with probably 2 dozen different therapists. Pray that the Lord would direct our steps to find a school that we would trust and love to drop her off at a few of days a week, or if we should hire a paraprofessional and have them take her a couple of days to the various therapy clinics. We are not looking for classroom integration school programs as that has become the most popular model. She experiences this at church and at Bible study each week. the two school options are a well reputed School for the Blind

2. Therapies. We feel plateaued and stagnant in therapy. God bless Anna who always tries and engages her therapists, but much the same stuff happens week after week. Most of it is good but not so challenging. 

-in PT pray that we would see more sit to stand exercises, trunk control, and gait trainer usage. 

-For speech may the Lord direct us as Anna has been doing the eye gaze device almost exclusively for close to a year without increasing her ability to operate it. Perhaps in the clinic, or at the school for the blind there would be more experienced teachers of the eye gaze devices) the same thing with her eye gaze device. Or maybe the Lord wants us to use speech therapy more for tongue and mouth stimulation to try introducing food orally again. 

-OT we lost our excellent therapist in May and have been without one since. We are on the waitlist for another. This week Anna, mom and the other kids are at Art camp. Lindsey is doing one on one Art with Anna engaging her much like an OT would.  

-Hippo therapy, (horseback) we spent 6 weeks getting Anna back into it with much success. The orthopaedic surgeon said this was the best therapy for Anna regarding her hips and trunk control. Pray if we should recommit to an 8 week session which is 1K out of our savings. Or if God would open the door to our old hippo place in south denver that accepted our insurance but is an hour away. 

3. Upcoming procedures, medical treatment and surgeries. 

-Pray for our sleep study on monday night the 27th of june. The strategy for this one was to see how Anna does without breathing assistance. However, we received an email stating that our doctor resigned. Pray for a wise replacement dr. able to be on board with our treatment strategy. Pray that Anna would show great ability to keep her lungs open while sleeping without the use of the BiPAP machine. That the Lord would get the boast as they remove the diagnosis of chronic atelectasis from Anna. She has been sleeping so well, keeping her Oxygen saturation levels up, managing the saliva and mucus in her airway, and remaining asleep during the nights ever since we stopped using the BiPAP machine 6 months ago. 

-General anesthesia dental visit scheduled for July 21 Anna's adult teeth are coming in without apology. She has what's called a shark tooth where the adult tooth grows in front and on top of the baby tooth. Also, because she was intubated as a premie, her jaw structure is more narrow, not allowing all the adult teeth the room they need. Anna is not a candidate for jaw widening because she cannot have a retainer type thing in her mouth. So they are going to pull like 6 teeth (all the remaining baby teeth i think), our plan is that there would be enough space for her adult teeth to come in. Pray for pain management, and that God would grow those adult teeth remarkably straight because Anna would not be a candidate for orthodontics either. Our God is able, "Delight us Lord."

-Hip Hardware removal is rescheduled for August 2nd. Grandma Sandy booked her flight to help us for this surgery, if all goes well it will be outpatient with at least a week of delicate pain management, a month of healing the incision sites and adjusting to life without metal and bolts in the femurs! Pray for excellence in surgical precision and that the outcome would be overwhelmingly worth the 1.5 years of correction to have her hip socket fixed. What a gift to prevent further dislocation. 

-ESES, join us as we are prayerfully considering the 3 month valium treatment, We were referred to the neurological specialist of ESES in the children's network, but he retired. Now there is a three month wait list for our regular neurologist to see Anna, just to activate a plan of treatment. Pray that the Lord would confirm whether or not we should do this treatment. it is a 3 day inpatient stay to start and three months of medication. It all seems like a bit much and addicting but the results are pretty convincing. In Truth, Jesus can heal by just saying a Word! Add to that Anna struggled the last time she was on valium (granted she was on tylenol and Oxycodone too).

4. Other prayer needs,

 -We lost another doctor, our GI who kept tabs on nutrition, J and G tubes/ports, BM, UTI's, and her reflux. About two weeks ago Lindsey noticed that Anna lost 6 pounds. This is a big deal because we have struggled to keep her at a good weight (Anna is in like the 10-20th percentile for weight). So we are upping the blended foods from 6 ounces once a day to about 7 ounces twice a day, on top of her through the night feed. We have been adding some "junk" organic maple syrup and olive oil mainly. I wanted to try Cheetos, Twinkies and Dr. Pepper but I got overruled. Pray for weight gain as we enter these procedures in the next couple of months.

-Pray for a rich blessing and grace upon grace as we head out this coming Sunday to spend a couple of nights near a state park with our neighbors. There won't be electricity but there will be bicycles, ATV's and a campfire. Pray that Anna and all of us would be healthy, sleep well, and be refreshed with this change of pace and activity. We ask the Lord to bless our weekend of the 4th of July as we celebrate my mom's 83 birthday as well. Pray for rich bonding and times of talking about faith with my Brother Will, his bride, mom and whoever else might be there. 

Praise the Lord for getting us through COVID without much to complain about. I consider it a favor from our Father. Praise Him for all our needs being met, help given, a life abundant filled to overflowing with love and a hope that never fails. 

Thankful for each of you who receive this!

Nic for Lindsey, Anna, Simon, Renee, and Victor

priceless love

Dear Praying Friends,

Not too long ago I was prepping some heat n' eat garlic knots from Walmart. as I put the tray into the toaster oven my fingernail bent backwards on the door frame and I let out this quick “yaaaooouuch, my finger!" As I inspected the nail, Simon came running over, grabbed my hands and without saying a word started kissing all my fingers one by one. I didn’t know what was going on, as I watched him start on the second hand I said "son what are you doing?" he looked up at me and said "I didn't know which finger was hurt so I wanted to kiss all of them." That was a priceless moment helping me see that I am so loved by that little boy.

Add to that, this week I read through another priceless love moment; the account of Jesus being anointed with the alabaster jar of perfume by a woman (Matthew 26). She comes into the home seemingly without invitation, determined to do this act before the guests and disciples. As the onlookers criticized, Jesus was beautified in what was likely one of the last dinners He would have before His death. Jesus treasured this up in His heart, while the witnesses didn’t understand. As I superimpose my relationship with Jesus on these examples, I find myself kissing my Redeemer’s hands and feet where the wounds of the greatest injustice the world has ever known resided. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).”

I thought of my relationship with my Perfect Heavenly Father. How can I show my love for Him like Simon did for me, or that lady did for Jesus? I know great planning was not involved with Simon's act; the woman seemed on a mission like it couldn't wait. So why do I think in my mind that I need a well hatched plan to give love and glory to God? As I prayed, reflected, and started to write about these things, the Holy Spirit brought to my attention caregiving. I was reminded that in the chapter before in Matthew the Goats and Sheep are separated in holy judgment by the practical love they did or did not show to "the least of these" and God the judge says to the sheep "when you chose to help them you chose to help me."  In following this line of thinking, I’m loving on God when I serve and help others. That is not complicated at all. Actually, the Lord has entrusted me to do that daily with my family, with Anna a diaper change becomes an act of love unto the Lord. A deserved “time out” for my middle kids is a pleasing aroma to Him. When I lavish encouragement and appreciation on my coworkers, I am loving God. Essentially, when I am others-centered looking where I can to offer help and I do it in Jesus’ name I show love to God similar to the anointing of Jesus or the kissing of ten fingers for the sake of one. What a caring, loving Creator.

 Anna received a new diagnosis of Electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES). Her EEG showed no seizures but it did show 'spikes' which the Neurologist likened to sparks that can start fire (seizures). she has more than 80 spikes in 100 seconds as she sleeps. For Anna, the evidence of seizure activity remains elusive especially when she is given tests and circumstances to provoke a seizure and she doesn't have them. At random times we wonder at her behavior like "was that a seizure?" The Lord knows and blessed be His healing name because the last confirmed seizure Anna had was in the NICU. What a tremendous peace that is to us! 

When Anna was 2, we were treating Hipsarrhymia (a diagnosis that is hand in hand with seizures). I remember God impressing upon me in my heart of hearts that Anna would not have seizures. This is something that doesn't usually characterize my relationship with God, however I remember in that moment having that overly anxious burden of seizures lifted from me. I was confused when asked to do another EEG for seizure activity but I said "sure let’s praise God for what’s not there." We did and do rejoice! This ESES diagnosis impairs her cognition and makes her life increasingly difficult to reach any milestone. But God has treated this ESES before through a couple avenues of medication. So we hope to meet with the Lord and a neurological specialist to find the best road to walk down.

Oh I almost forgot, Anna starts Hippotherapy on Wednesday, what a sweet treat and a time of mending that should be, we will continue this every week until her surgery in 5 weeks. Praise the Lord.

Thank you for your prayers and have a joyous Resurrection Sunday!!

 

The Currats.

Unfailing Love

Dear Prayer Warriors,

 

The Lord's unfailing love has been super evident this past month. Lindsey and I came to wits end emotionally a couple of times in the last few weeks only to find the comfort of our Merciful Savior in prayer and waiting. Our requests were not a hollow resounding gong before the Lord because in the space of prayer, the Father taught us to examine our trials with hope in the good He is working through them. Isn’t that His unfailing love? Lindsey and I focused on communication and prayer unity as husband and wife (and less in the things we can seemingly "control on our own"). The whirlwind of trials is passing, even though as I write I am listening to Anna continuously slide her excess mucus up and down her airway.

 

Two nights ago, Anna was coughing about every 20-30 seconds if she was not asleep. Mostly it was a dry, faded and unproductive cough that only fatigued her lungs without clearing her throat. My job was to get her to where she could sleep. I was medication juggling, suctioning, repositioning, doing the nebulizer and airway clearance vest treatments only to find her still coughing. I had not made helpful choices to anticipate being up all night with this illness going awry. Before the fatigue hit me, I was singing Beauty and the Beast songs to Anna and the pain of my hematoma was ignorable. After volleying from my bed to her bedside till about 1 AM, her coughing and discomfort became wild. I gave up going back to my bed; my thoughts laced with fears of unraveling health, tempting me to go downward. I was frustrated at the whole situation. Shortly after I cried out to Yahweh, I prayed weeping a bit, wishing for pity from the Lord. I think I had my nurse hat on too tight, and my own pain seemed like a wicked add-on distracting me.

 

So, I invited the Holy Spirit to come. The coughing didn’t stop, however, the "wishing things were different" did. Praise the God who changes my understanding and perspective, I know I would have not on my own because of my complaining tendencies! I praised God for the incredible gift of having Anna in my life. I held her hand and encouraged her. "Thank you, God, for her strong cough, some kids like her don't cough at all." My songs turned to eternal truths around 2 AM. At 3:30 I took a sneak back to my room and tagged Lindsey from her slumber to take over so I could rest a while. It wasn’t a night of healing physically. Then morning came and Anna slept straight from 7-11. 

 

In other follow ups, Lindsey had successful gallbladder surgery three days after my last email because it could not wait. laparoscopic surgery is a wonderous invention, Praise the Lord. Now we are tasked with reinventing our diet to minimize the effects of not having a gall bladder to process fats. This reveals many eating habits that require pressing into Jesus's strength to overcome. Pray for us.

 

I have been on medical leave from work for three weeks, I return tomorrow with a months’ worth of ADA accommodations and a about the same length of time to fully recover. My employer paid 75% of my leave which is a grace that should enable a camping trip in late June!

 

This illness that Anna is going through struck us all last week; only Anna, Victor and Lindsey remain impacted with symptoms, please pray for a full recovery for all three. We miss the fellowship and participation in our church with so much going on at home and remain thankful knowing that if we share our lives with people of prayer that God can directly receive the glory and credit that is due Him for moving mountains! Hallelujah for such care, help, and unfailing love!!!

 

Blessings in the name of Jesus, 

 

the Currats

Thankful forJesus

Dear Prayer Warriors,

One morning this week Simon caught me reading the Bible before anyone else was up. I looked up at him with delight and he sat down next to me and waited quietly. As I was finishing reading, Simon asked “what do you do with Jesus other than read the Bible?” As I searched for my critical thinking cap, I repeated the question to myself aloud. He wasn’t dogging on reading the Bible, I think he wanted to do more stuff with Jesus. How would you answer that?

 

Its easy for me to think of the things I do for Jesus, and even easier to think of the things Jesus done for me, but that wasn’t his question. I looked my son in the eye, complimented him on the question and asked for a little time. “what do we (Jesus and I) do together?” That was three days ago. The question has been a helpful inventory of my faith life. Simon and I have talked about it since.

 

One of the fruits of this question came in my spontaneous prayer life. I have since been asking Jesus throughout my days if He will go and do this or that with me. “Can you lead with me at work today Jesus?” or “I hear Renee crying mid sleep let’s calm her together Jesus.” Out of all this came so much thanksgiving.

 

I am so thankful for another year with Jesus. 15 years with, 28 years on my own. My life has more of Him and less of me.

Simon stormed off to his room this morning as soon as our visitors came because he was surprised by how they looked. He was in a moody state. I talked to him about how his feelings were getting the best of him as he rolled around on the ground not wanting to hear me out. 

Simon didn't want to move. So I told him that we should pray for Jesus to go with Him upstairs to apologize to our guests, and serve them drinks, because if it was just up to him he would stay in his room.  

This situation helped me see that perhaps its better to do things with Jesus instead of doing things for Jesus. Both are honorable in humility. Simon might have mustered a change of heart for Jesus because his father asked him or because he knows God sees him. Calling on Jesus to go with him to encourage and face the people he offended brought a more tangible thing to do with Jesus.

Please Praise the Lord with me:

*In December we will be receiving the chair we ordered post surgery. Anna has been in a stroller for 6 months that offers no spinal support. 

*Our night nurse and our Homemaker/Respite provider continue to work full time for Anna and us! They are meeting all the regulations imposed on them. They continue to ease our daily living with great grace. 

*Anna’s surgery bill appears to have gone through processing after numerous follow-ups with insurance. 

*With great favor from God and man we purchased another car with our savings. This allows us to look for ways to turn our gold minivan into a blessing for someone.

*the Lord continues to sustain us through a few minor viruses. Thank you for praying for our continued health.

*We continue to have all our needs exceedingly met. We are blessed and favored from friends, prayer warriors, strangers, and family with gifts that humble and affirm us in Jesus. Some for the arrival of Victor, some for Anna’s comfort and some for the family as a whole. 

*With Anna’s bike trailer we have gone on family bike rides in this unseasonable warm weather. That has been fun!

*We have been able to attend church and have been encouraged by the saints, fed in the Word, and filled with worship.

 please pray for: 

-The continued joy and understanding that comes when doing things with Jesus. May He be our confidence. May we be yielded in heart to the Holy Spirit’s lead.

-Anna to grow and regain ability in her legs. We are putting her in the gait trainer more, and hope to start hippo therapy soon. 

-her new AFO’s (ankle braces) to be approved and arrive soon, we ordered them three weeks ago. she has outgrown her old ones and develops irritation when we put them on her.

-God to correct her left foot rotation, she is so inwardly rotated post surgery it has become hard to simulat

My Portion, Daily

 

Dear Prayer Warriors,

 

"Hallelujah, He's my portion." What it's telling me is that all I'm gonna’ get is Jesus. My inheritance is wrapped up in the unchanging person of Jesus Christ. God the Giver has apportioned me His Son from here on out. I am not a self-made man, or a product of my surroundings; my life and all the intentionality I try to bring to it remains dependent on the inheritance I received on November 10th 2006. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" Matthew 13:44.

 

Some days I wake up and forget to collect my inheritance. Perhaps I’m a touch lazy or a bit busy, or the world tries to tell me I don’t have one. so instead of receiving my inheritance newly, I go with what I already received. Yesterday’s portion. So when the worries of today come, I can act like I got no portion in Jesus. But He died to make sure I would be taken care of. By giving up His life for me I inherited many things.

 

Contentment abounds

Hope remains

Thanksgiving and worship surface 

Trust is validated

 

Great grace was lavished on us during Victor's birth, he was born on September 10th 2021. I was in attendance thanks to a few servant-hearted sisters in Christ. Victor flipped a week before! Lindsey endured a viral illness in that final week of pregnancy which was a challenge for sure.

 

Even with all the good things in place, our faith felt wavering during the labor, we were tempted to recall the difficulties of the past more than the faithfulness of God. The firm portion I boast in seemed to have vanished for a moment. But God didn’t leave me in a state of despair. Suddenly prayers were answered, joy filled the room, strength came (a c-section was not needed) and Victor Ebenezer arrived. Healthy, peaceful, and vigorous. 8LBS, 20.5” Lindsey endured a hemorrhage after giving birth, that was closely monitored and managed without surgery. This day was another story of victory and healing.  

 

We are all at home and bonding well. My leave of absence was approved for another two weeks. Simon, Renee, and Anna continuously delight in their new baby brother. Lindsey joined a bible study group but hasn’t attended yet, and still they have been bringing us meals without ever meeting us. That really spoke strongly to us. only Jesus can do that.  I have been taking Simon and Anna to the home school co-op. It has been a neat experience to see them treat adults with respect and show love to their peers. Another praise is that we got approved for a special needs bike trailer for Anna to go on bike rides with us!!

 

Please Pray for:

-Nurse Lillianna to grow in knowledge of caring for Anna and her needs through the night. Each patient is different, we are doing our best to cheer her on. she has been a blessed addition at just the right time.

-Respite provider Billie Jo to continue working for us. She has been such a help but there are some complications around vaccine requirements for home health care workers. She is trying to work things out. May the Lord lead her.

-The Lord to direct my steps in getting our minivan repaired, our AC unit fixed and our stair lift working again. Good thing I got some time off of work.

- Anna’s surgery bill to be resolved as my insurance is persisting to not pay.

-Leslie and Cindy (our newest therapists) to continue to compel Anna. They are so excited to work with Anna and they engage her so lovingly. Just another great fit.  

-Anna to receive her new wheel chair. That I would make the follow-up calls since its been two months with no update.

-A new Bi-pap machine. Ours is on a recall for causing cancer, the company says “don’t use it.” Yet Anna needs it. It is an enormous recall impacting many people and we just have a number in line. Pray we can still order parts for the old one to keep it clean and working.

-continued protection from illnesses, renewed strength, and joy for us all.

-our hearts to be kindled by our church. we have been away with all these things and have had very little time with them or communication. Perhaps it’s our fault, but we feel that “anonymous” big church feeling right now. We miss fellowshipping, worshiping Jesus with them.

-Grace for these new family dynamics. Being home so much tempts me to feel inadequate, less joy filled. But God has His victories through me: I’m husband and a four-baby daddy! That is the Calling on my life for the rest of it for sure!!

 

Victor: Victorious

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ! John 5:4-5

Ebenezer: Stone of Help

“ Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”” 1 Samuel 7:12

 

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

The Currats

Thanking God and Calling on Him

 

Dear Prayer Warriors,

 

Our summer remains covered by grace and filled with the joy of raising children. That is why I have found it hard to stop and write. Here's a little slice of our life: 

 

The homeschool co-op starts in early September so we are eager to plan out Simon's first month of schooling as it coincides with Victor's birth. Simon is starting Kindergarten. For Anna we are still trying to teach her to grab and hold things in her hand and utilizing the eye-gaze device. Lindsey also serves as her Paraprofessional during class time at the co-op. One thing I love about homeschooling is that the curiosity switch is always on, and a lesson often instantly spun from one random question. You don't go to a building to "learn"; teaching is as fluid as our dad jokes around here. 

 

 Simon hopes to learn to play chess and the piano this year as well. Have you ever noticed the closeness of music to the heart of the Lord in Scripture? Speaking tongues may be the angelic language but the saint's language is singing! O what pleasure it must bring to God a hymn of praise. All the while washing out the cobwebs of fear and sin in our hearts, adding an arsenal of melodious Truth to the mind. I find it more pressing to teach my kids music and singing unto the Lord.

 

Renee delights in her ways. She stops at nothing to receive undivided attention. Renee is confirming her role as a brazen, fearless two year old. Her continuous testing of boundaries paired with ceaseless energy can turn any amount of sugar into an opportunity for discipline. She is working on potty skills and her words are increasing daily. I remind her that she needs to be more aware of the world around her and not just do as she pleases. I have to repeat myself so much with her it's tempting to raise my voice. All in all Renee can be tiring but she is so lovely.

 

God has given us so much grace through the saints who have loved, cared, and encouraged us. This makes me think of the rich blessing of having an army of prayer warriors to intercede on our behalf. Thank you. Our summer has been filled with good things. We knocked out home improvement projects with the help of a handy couple from church who bring excellent work with the love of Christ. Grandma from Washington visited, we hosted grandma French's 82 birthday. Our summer has been filled with good things from big (like 11 years of marriage) to small (homemade Greek Gyros). We even squeezed in bumper boats and go carts. None of this would have been possible if Anna’s surgery hadn’t gone so well. 

 

 

 

Before I get into Anna's update. I wanted to share with you a special event we had at our house this summer. For about a year Simon has been planning to open a cafe in our house called Best Cafe. We could think of no better way to inaugurate Best Cafe then when we hosted Kevan Chandler and the We Carry Kevan team. You may remember years ago we bought a backpack that had customizations for carrying our cerebral palsy daughter on hikes. This is that company, it meant so much to us that they wanted to meet Anna. In essence they go where wheelchairs can't, carrying their 30-something year old team leader on their back. With a mission to bless families like us with possibilities we thought impossible. In case it isn't clear, Jesus is at the foundation of this team. So praise God for such heroics, and now they call us friends! They have over 500 backpacks in 100+ countries for people like Anna.  They have a bold book and two documentaries to spread their message. As a dad, I'm inspired to dream how God will continue to use Anna to draw people to him like He used the Chandler family. 

 

 

We've had our share of surprises stemming from Anna's surgery now 3 months ago. Two of Anna's most hard fought milestones have been wiped out without any warning. She can no longer roll from her back to her belly. Nor can she sit criss-cross-applesauce and plant her hands on the mat to sit independently anymore. As parents we were a bit heartbroken over these developments especially as we inquired with the surgeon for accountability and they told us she may never be able to do that again, or that "it was possibly her dislocated hips that were allowing her to do that." Another surprise was that Anna’s surgery widened her hips by two inches preventing her from fitting in her wheelchair anymore. We were not prepared for this hurdle. We finally removed the leg braces and the wedge but we were still stuck at home with no suitable chair. God provided before it became a request I came to you all with. A family in the Springs had an extra chair just the right size for us, they gave it to us. So we have been running ever since, praise God. We also ordered another chair custom fit for Anna. We are waiting on insurance and the medical equipment company to follow through on this. 

 

On Tuesday of last week we found out that a night nurse named Lilliana is taking our case!! After 7 months of praying, right before baby number four, God provided! Thank you for asking God for us, for so long, He knows our needs! She is not the only new person joining Anna's care community. We have a new PT named Leslie who started today and a new Speech therapist named Sandy. All showing much eagerness and hope for Anna's abilities. We are going to try and get those milestones back! Another huge difference maker has been Billie-Jo. She joined us about a month ago as a housekeeper and respite provider. What excellent care she brings with a joyful attitude! We are in a place of thanksgiving for all these positions being filled. It is humbling to know how our every need is still being met as we wait on the Lord. Plus God is using Anna to bless these workers, may the fragrance of the Gospel be pleasant to all who enter our home to help us!!

 

Lastly please know that we are less than a month away from Victor's due date. We are confident that this unfolding of events will bring glory to God. Though uncertain with the "how" on our end, we are eager to see exactly how the Lord will lead us through this mountain top of new birth. We can't wait to marvel at how God will put His signature on this event and place in our hands such a beloved gift from Him. 

 

Please pray for:

 

• Our new Physical therapist and a Speech Therapist for Anna. Pray for wisdom. May God challenge them to bring excellence in engaging and pushing Anna, people with strategy for gains in her abilities, not just people doing preventative “maintenance” care.
• Praise the Lord for night nurse Lilliana, she just got her nursing license so pray that God would build her up, and that she would love her first patient Anna and remain teachable. 
• Can we ask for a second night nurse? We have 4 nights covered.  May the Lord bring the right person to ease our nights as Victor will require our night attention too. 
• Continued bone bonding and muscle strengthening. Post surgery Anna continues to be doing great! May God bring the cut pieces together without interference from her spasticity. 
• Insurance to pay for the surgery and for a larger size wheelchair. Through the years We have volleyed so much with insurance that these processes don’t get us worked up very much anymore. they are “making sure this wasn’t an accident” that caused Anna's dislocated hips. In truth they are trying to make Anna’s secondary insurance Medicaid pick up the bill. But they sound so immoral along the way. Remember they denied her wheelchair calling it "unnecessary."
•  baby Victor to flip. Victor has been in the breech position for two months now making natural birth impossible unless he switches to head first position, we are 3 weeks from the due date. It is Lindsey’s aim to avoid a c-section if possible. Pray that the Lord would bless the day of his birth.
• preparedness before school starts, for lesson planning and worksheets for Simon's start of Kindergarten and for Anna's engagement in schoolwork. May the Lord guide us and open doors as we lean on some of the other homeschool families. 
• Guidance on planning paternal leave. My work will provide as much time as we need for Victor's birth. But I recently learned that the paternity leave pay was from the same allotment as the family medical leave that I took for Anna's surgery. Pray for wisdom and direction to determine how much time we need off, we have saved up some vacation time and also have saved funds in anticipation of this time. By God's grace and provision we will be good.
  
• Lindsey to hear the Lord's peace and live in the strength He provides, she still has to lift Anna, run after Renee, reason with Simon, and birth Victor.

Too busy not to pray,

Nic for the Currats

God's Bountiful Plunder

 

Dear Prayer Warriors.

 

Thanks to the worship time at church, the chorus of that Michael W. Smith song is in my head “This is how I fight my battles x3/ it may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You.” What a jam. The Lord has redeemed my writing for Himself, what was once used for mocking God for selfish gain He has redeemed. If I’m walking in the light, depending on prayer, why hide anything? Honesty in trials keeps my heart soft and teachable as His love ministers and the circumstance unfolds. The prayer warriors become Jesus’ tangible surrounding of us, while He Himself is navigating from inside me. This is how I fight my battles!   

 

This surgery was a battle, thanks for surrounding us. Let’s take time to reflect on the bountiful plunder of His victory. The battle started about 3 years ago when our Physiatrist (rehab/cp doc) noticed that Anna’s femur bone wasn’t at a good angle and was about ten degrees dislodged out of the ball and socket joint. she referred us discretely to the orthopedic surgeon. She had seen enough cases that she could have given us a full-blown picture of the ordeal far off on the horizon, but she didn’t and that was a mercy to us. Praise the Lord. This is when I first asked for prayer for this far off battle.

 

The orthopedic surgeon said “let’s meet every 6 months to reevaluate Anna’s hips” because he noticed that her spasticity was intermittent enough to perhaps prevent the femur from dislodging further. He introduced me to the surgery in that meeting. Instead of fearing, God gave me courage there to believe Him for a miracle, praise God. We prayed, hoping for the most immediate miracle because He is able. 

 

After skipping two meetings due to the coronavirus I met again with the surgeon and he showed me the blunt unraveling of Anna’s hip socket. I said “my heart dropped” at the contrasting X-rays 16 months apart. He kindly said “mine did too when I saw.” I wept and apologized to Anna as he showed us what was needed if repairing her hip was the way to go. Soon after we got other medical opinions confirming this plan to walk through this valley. The promise of Jesus being my Good Shepherd helped me trust Him with these developments. In faith, we prayed then for a merciful, supernatural reversal of the bone’s positioning. 

 

Then came the emotional days of tension between knowing that God is able to heal immediately and believing that; while scheduling a surgery date and requesting a medical leave at work. We took Anna to pastors and elders of the church to anoint her with oil and pray for her healing at this time. I know there were many answers to prayer as God quickly comforted me with the memory of walking with Him through Anna’s shunt surgery when she was 6 weeks old. God used medicine and surgery as a provision of faith, not a destruction of it. This was the merciful miracle Anna was to receive for her hip dislocation.  In my own prayers I was hoping more for the type of miracle that would have landed us on the evening news, but our trust in God meant that whatever He chooses is good with us.   

 

The next stage we prayed for further confirmation through our circumstances. Did God want us to walk through the OR doors, or was He putting closed door after closed door in front of us? We felt loved by our Heavenly Father because after that email, the body of Christ, His children came to our help in meeting practical needs and in spiritual encouragement. We got everything ready both at home and at work. Glory to God for such an orderly unfolding that could only give us peace as we approached surgery. 

 

Then, at the appointed time, Simon and Renee went to our friend’s house and the day of battle came. I didn’t feel in the best of places leading up, I couldn’t help but get worked up, earing restless sleep, and repeating complaints about the circumstances in my mind. A bit shaky in the knees we went. We sang songs on the way to the hospital, we got those 4am texts from those who were thinking overtime about Anna.  I always dress up for these days because I want to give the impression that God holds us together, that we are trusting in His unfolding. God cared for us during that time when Anna was “under” by bringing people to pray with us, quiet places to read the Word and think upon Him. I started reading the second half of Isaiah that day and have been continuing with Anna since, what a comfort!

 

Let us remember the goodness of God through answered prayer: A perfect surgery, not needing a blood transfusion, respiratory healing post-surgery, strengthening, pain management, rest, songs of comfort, health before and after, meals, caretaking for our younger two, time off work, and many more I’m forgetting.

 

Let us remember God’s grace for things we received that we didn’t know we needed. Like friends in the hospital cafeteria that I haven’t seen in years, formula given to us when we needed it, a hotel room across the street, kind and loving staff caring for us, eye to eye time with my bride to share our hearts and plans, gift cards, gift baskets, gift stuffies, flowers, encouraging replies and faithful people praying.

 

I hope you know that you share in this plunder! Anna’s life is marked by people going to God in prayer for her regularly, she is bringing people to the Lord through her needs. Thanks for being one of them!!!

 

Our trip this past Friday for the 3-week checkup showed us that the X-ray, and Anna’s scars were all excellent and begun healing. Our doctor kept on saying how great everything looked. Praise the Lord. Seeing Anna’s legs outside of the braces reminded me a bit of Bambi like when he tried to stand on the ice, knobby at the knee, thin and wobbly. May God be Anna’s strength as she continues to recover. Anna needs to keep the wedge in for at least another 3 weeks. But with the stitches out, our sweet daughter enjoyed her first bath in a long while. Indeed, a celebration. 

 

Praying is a factor that holds infinite possibilities, and overrides human possibilities by the hand of the Almighty. In my desire for happiness, I asked for a supernatural immediate healing; in my desire for His holiness, I received this testimony. blessed be the Lord.

 

May I take the liberty to extend this update to include another prayer request? Or perhaps more accurately a praise request to the Lord on our behalf.  On Christmas Day we received the gift of anticipating the birth of our 4th child. We are eager to meet Victor Currat due in God’s perfect timing sometime near September 4. Lindsey has had no complications with the pregnancy and now that Anna’s big surgery is over, we feel more giddy than ever about little Victor entrusted to us. Attached is a picture pre surgery with little Victor’s bump.

 

What a Good Shepherd,

The Currats