Undeveloped film

December 10, 2012

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. ...And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there. -Samuel 1:10-15, 26-28

As I turn the pages of the Bible, story after story tells about a Gracious God who uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. I was thinking about how Hannah labored in sorrow, pain and tears as she pleaded unto the Lord for a son before she ever conceived Samuel. Often times, new life is birthed through committed prayer that flows from a humble heart before God. Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” -Daniel 10:12-14 Even in the last hours leading to Calvary in the Garden of Gethsemane we see how Jesus earnestly prayed to His Father. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.-Luke 22:41-44 Jesus prayed for us on that day and He continues to make intercession on our behalf. Then I think about all the faithful saints who prayed for my salvation such as family, sunday school teachers, ministers, counselors, friends, ministries, and the list goes on. Bible translators risked their lives so we would have the Gospel in English, many Americans sacrificed their lives to ensure freedom of religion in our nation, missionaries forsake their lives so the lost might find life and countless others generations ago have touched our lives in ways we may never know. Just think how many people have prayed for your salvation. You are very special to God and dear to his heart!

I want to thank all who participated in the day of fasting and all those who faithfully remember us in prayer!  I have so much to share with you about Dean's daily progress and yet the days seem to end just after they begin. My days are busy caring for Dean and I'm grateful for the support of our families, friends, and churches that make it possible for me to dedicate all my attention to Dean. Nevertheless, I extend my deepest apologies for not developing the film of our life over the past few weeks. Thank you for caring, taking the time to read our updates, supporting us financially, praying, and sharing in our burden.

Dean made some good progress in therapy this week as he continues to put more weight through his legs. With the help of three therapist, myself, and a standing walker, he walked 2 sets of 60 feet, 107 feet, and 75 feet down the hall! Dean is unable to maintain his balance in a sitting position, stand to his feet or take one step without help. However, he is making progress slowly in these areas and we continue to trust God for his complete healing. I was able to stand Dean to his feet for the first time on December 6th as he towered over me. I told him we were going to practice 10 transfers that night from the wheelchair to the bed. I asked him to stand and he said okay. I was thrilled and we did it 4 times before he rested in bed. Friday he stood 5 times for me, Saturday 3 times and today it was a struggle to stand for one. On the weekends, he doesn't receive the same therapy and this impacts his physical performance. Please pray that the next 5 days he will build upon what he has learned and his brain will find new pathways throughout his body to develop the coordination and strength needed to walk and sit again. Dean's eyes do not respond to light which currently limits his therapy opportunities in addition to the struggles he already faces with TBI. Dean's comprehension continues to improve daily as he responds appropriately to questions and follows commands. We continue to ask the Lord for clarity in his speech, thoughts, and memory. I thank the Lord that Dean has stayed awake all day and is sleeping through the entire night since Saturday! Please pray he stays on this schedule so he has plenty of energy during the day for therapy. Sunday morning around 6 am, Dean began to say, "Hi, Hello, Hi" for a few minutes even though I was laying next to him. I've become very sensitive to his needs during the night but I must have been in a deep sleep. I quickly awoke as the nurse walked in and asked him if he could rest a little more before breakfast time. I asked him a question and he said, "percentuous." I had no idea the meaning of this word so I asked him to define it. He said it meant, "precisely" so later in the morning I tried looking it up in the dictionary. Dean always had a large vocabulary and I wouldn't be surprised when he starts tapping into it again. Lately, he likes to say these words, "Brilliant, Ridiculous, Interesting, slightly, barely, okay, alright, huh, because, Thank you, Hi, How are you, wrong, nasty, disgusting, no, yes, oww, Amen."

(This is the picture of the roll of film hanging down the hall from our room.)



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