We used to give my daddy a hard time about his penchant for drama. He was a super story-teller and even the simplest of events could turn into dramatic tales. Truth is, my daddy lived a dramatic life and was exposed to dramatic things consistently. I think that his walking with the Lord through amazing things made it easier for him to see the amazing, and potential for amazing, in what I might have called simple items. As I think back, rarely did he wax eloquent about himself; his drama centered more around what God was doing or had done.

My family’s teasing has made me very aware of the stories I tell and very sensitive toward stirring up drama. It has made me a bit gun-shy about sharing the events of our life because, if I’m honest, we happen to live a life that tends toward the dramatic. Whether it’s the effects of Autism on our son’s choices at school, KB’s growing to realize she is the “youngest, but also the oldest” child, or Little’s recent enlarged heart . . . there’s drama. I think there is a challenge here about my walk with the Lord and having spiritual eyes like my daddy; I still don’t always see the amazing or potential for amazing.

The past 24 hours have been dramatic. Little was asleep by 8:00 PM last night and I turned in at 10:30. I was awakened at 3:30 AM by our nurse and a shower of questions about Little’s heart rate during the past visit to the hospital. It seems that for the past two hours the nurse had been watching Little’s rate dip to very low and then shoot up to very high and then spend time dancing all around in between. Within minutes I saw what she was talking about and I have to admit, I finally cried. My mind went to all kinds of places as they wheeled in the EKG machine and got to work.  I just sat there praying and wondering until the doctor came in and said there wasn’t anything to worry about – this chamber and that chamber are working together and that’s good … but they don’t know why it’s jumping around and she’s called another doctor to consult, but there’s no reason to panic. I knew I wasn’t going to go back to sleep and so I decided to shower. There I contemplated what amazing thing the Lord might be up to and considered the other feeling I was experiencing… nausea.

I was able to go back to sleep once I was clean. The new nurse came on duty at 7:00 AM and I woke up to introduce myself AND apologize to her for the onslaught of my norovirus that she was about to be privy to. She gave me a barf bag and a short pep talk about how I could go home knowing that she’s “got this” (pointing at Little). I nodded and called Jeremy; together we came up with a plan that he worked it quite nicely. I ended up sleeping the day away in a room of a poorly located but satisfactorily clean hotel and Jeremy stayed with Lily. Our friend picked the kids up from school and made sure they got fed and to youth group; Jeremy left in time to pick them up afterward.

I only threw up once … the prayers of the teeth brushers availeth much.

So, I’ve decided to take a minute and to relive this day with my daddy’s eyes and see if I can look past the drama to the amazing.

• They were going to send us home today but are doing a more thorough look at the electrical workings of Little’s big heart. It may take time to know the full extent of amazing on this one.
• They will now be sending us home with oxygen and a plan for a sleep study since Little has an obvious track record of not being able to breathe well while she is sleeping. I thought it was odd they sent us home without it last week, but the Lord gave them a “do-over” and used norovirus to get our girl the oxygen she needs. His care for her is amazing.
• My friend, Nancy, has been out-of-town for two weeks and just got back. The personality God gave her and stage of life she is in made it “easy” for her to jump in and help today. I’ve been so concerned for the siblings and time at Mrs. Nancy’s is a treat. Her return and availability at “such a time as this” is not lost on me. . . it’s amazing.
• I was sitting on the bed/couch this morning and trying to find a hotel with an empty room they would let me have immediately.  I was having a hard time sitting up because it made me want to throw up and I said to myself, “I would love for someone to just do this for me. . . I wish Jeremy was here.” A friend from Colorado Springs texted that minute and asked for an update.  I told her what was up. . . Little needing new tests means not going home, I am sick and was just looking for a hotel to go hold up in with an immediate check-in availability. She texted back a moment later to tell me that she had a place in my price range that was waiting on me to arrive. She did that for me. There should be an entire blog post about the hotel and my time there but the truth is her love for me and servant-hearted response was just plain amazing.
• We have a friend who recently returned from the mission field. She wrote yesterday and asked about the family and then told me she was going to do something very in line with the culture where she had worked. She asked me to just let her do this cultural thing and that was it.  Then she sent money. I told her I would accept her cultural gift and let her know how God used it as a provision for us. Well, it paid for the hotel room today that was a real life saver for me. Her generosity — His provision — amazing.
• While I was gone, Little got moved into a private room so that if I were still sick I could puke in the privacy of our own potty. It’s the same room we were in last week. It’s great. I’m just not sick anymore. AMAZING.
• My friend wrote tonight to tell me that the whole church had prayed for me. Amazing.

On one hand, today has been just another day at the hospital – another day in this journey. On the other hand, the God of the universe saw fit today to protect our daughter, show love to me, and provide for our family … again. Maybe I should adjust my view? And maybe we shouldn’t have given daddy such a hard time.