Weathering The Storm

"THY MERCY, O LORD, IS IN THE HEAVENS, AND THY FAITHFULNESS REACHETH UNTO THE CLOUDS"
PSALM 36:5




We had another appointment with the doctors at Children's and University. Our baby is growing right on track and doing well in the womb. She is weighing almost 5 pounds and very active. Sometimes congenital heart defects can change or worsen in the womb and so far everything looks the same. Her heart is growing right along with her body, which is great! Praise God for those important details. Everything is going as planned...she will have the surgery a couple days after birth. We have to relocate to Denver in a few days to be sure I am there when she is born. At birth, her team of pediatric doctors will administer the prostaglandin through her umbilical cord for her little heart valve to sustain her. The valve that normally closes on healthy babies, at birth, needs to stay open for to live. I will be able to hold her for a short time before they take her to the NICU. After they stabilize her, she gets transported next door to Children's-to the CICU. Clark said, "It's going to be hard to leave you after the baby is born but sorry babe, I am going to Children's to be with Mia!" You go Daddy! She needs you. There is nothing like a daddy's love.
It has been a whirlwind of emotions and activities in our home the past few weeks. I have been so busy making plans to relocate that I have been preoccupied. Now that we have been told to go to Denver sooner, it is sinking in. Our life is about to change drastically. Some days I think, how will I ever handle all this! Our daughter will need continuous care through the next few months. Doctors visits regularly and another surgery in a couple months...a lot to think about.

We were met with bad weather again on our ride home from Denver. During the last appointment everyone was rushing around trying to get information on the storm coming so they could get us out in time. It was so helpful and loving. I am overwhelmed by the caring people at the hospital and so thankful. We chose to leave a day earlier to beat the storm but unfortunately we did not make it! We ran into the blizzard at nightfall..that was pretty scary. We only had 30 miles to our destination but we couldn't see anything. We thought about turning back but the storm was right behind us. I started praying with FERVOR for God to direct our path and be our guiding light. I prayed the entire hour that we drove. We came upon a truck in front of us that had a white light on the back. I prayed that it would not turn off and we could follow it. It did not turn off and we were able to make it to the town safely. I know God led us and protected us. An amazing thing happened while praying, I realized that we needed to PRAY more about our baby and the next "STORM" we are about to go through. And that if God is not at the center we will never make it! Sounds simple enough but it's easy to get stressed about things instead of leaning on God and turning to HIM. It was a wake up call to both of us that God is going to weather this storm in front of our family and we need to turn to Him and FOCUS on His faithfulness. During the most intense time on the road, my babies(5 and 7 now!) were eagerly watching and listening to me pray. Then they said, Mom, you know there are angels all around us right now. And they leaned back and put in a movie. Enough of this worry for them! Don't I wish I had faith like a child. It made me realize even more to turn my worry over to the Lord and have peace. About everything! I felt like God was telling us, He could get us through WHATEVER storm we were facing in life and to LEAN ON HIM. Isn't it amazing that even when we don't know the right words to pray, God knows us, he knows our needs. He knew what I needed, a boost in the confidence direction! Our life is just (and has already) about to get a bit more complicated. I will remember this snowy ride of faith in the future when we are weathering the next stage of life.
Even though it has been a long couple of months and an inconvenience to travel so far for all these appointments, I am thankful we have made it. God has prepared us in many ways on these trips to endure all that is needed for the health of our baby. We have made it this far and we are pressing on in FAITH, HOPE, and PERSEVERANCE. We will be leaving for Denver in about a week and are thankful for all the prayers on our behalf. We are praying for you too.