In Everything...

"In everything give thanks."  The distinguishing word here is "in", which should not be confused with the word "for".  There are always blessings in every circumstance that we can find, even if they seem very small, but of course no one needs to be thankful for the bad things they experience, just be thankful for the good you can find in the midst of the bad and difficult.

Some part of me, the part of me that is tired and frustrated and very human, wants to scream and express to the world and anyone who will listen all the things that have not gone the way I wanted.  When I was in nursing school, one of my professor's had a sign on her door and she quoted it often, "Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape."  Flexibility and trust and giving up control.  That's what I'm learning right now.

It is and was great news about Andy's viral encephalitis.  Except that it is of course, viral encephalitis - leaving his body slightly weaker and his immune system not quite up to it's normal fighting level.  That coupled with travel and coming straight from West Africa...and possibly Andy's denial that something else would pop up.  All this created a perfect storm that landed Andy in the hospital on Tuesday.  He has been there and each day is labs show that he is doing better and getting stronger, but it also resulted in longer stay in the USA.  There are many blessings that we found in the middle of this trial, some are super obvious and all were a reminder that God has always been working in the background, preparing and orchestrating everything before we even knew.  One of the biggest praises was the doctor that now has been assigned to Andy is the best one we could have asked for in this specific case.

Andy up walking around early Friday morning

So, Andy is still in the hospital (in Anderson) and should be released today (Friday), if all goes well.  They are waiting for his blood counts to come up.  He is still anxious to come back, and the kids and I are excited to see him.  But, we also want him to wait until he is strong enough to make the trip.  The flight is long and the drive up to Mango when he finally lands in Togo is 8 hours with some very bumpy roads.

And, just in case you're worried - Andy's not contagious at all, but boy, doesn't he like to make life exciting!

In the meantime the kids and I are doing fine.  Nora just started 2nd grade here at the school on the hospital compound.  She has 3 kids in her class, and she's been super excited every morning to go.  This is a huge blessing, too.

We are grateful for all the blessings we can see - both now and as we look back, and we are anxiously awaiting Andy's return home!