A Walk to Remember

Yes, I happen to like this book by Nicholas Sparks... well, most books by Nicholas Spraks, really. But this was a different sort of walk.

On Saturday, Spence and I went up to Sugarloaf Mountain for a hike. I had looked at the trail maps online and found that the white trail at the top of the mountain was a nice 2 1/2 mile loop... sounded about right. Well, something wasn't measured quite right, because I can tell you that it was a LOT longer than 2 1/2 miles! We eventually figured out a little shortcut (after getting a little lost) back to the car. So, our walk was a bit memorable because we got a little lost, but also because I was reminded of a truth I greatly needed to hear.

It was nice to get out on a beautiful day and do something different. There's something refreshing to me about being face to face with God's creation... wheteher it's being in the woods, on the top of a mountain and being able to see for miles, or at the beach with the crashing waves. While we were there, I was reminded of Matthew 6, where Jesus tells us not to worry, and makes a point of talking about the birds, the lilies, and the grass of the fields, and how if they are taken care of, then how much more will we be? It was a wonderful truth to remember and to be reminded of. Here's a picture from our walk...


Lately one of the things I have wondered through this is how am I going to be okay? I know that I will be; God promises to never leave us or foresake us...but how? How am I going to be okay when I go back to teaching in August? How am I going to be okay when we go to meet with the people at the cemetery and the funeral home? How am I going to be okay the night before my scheduled c-section? And how am I going to be okay in that moment where Isaac takes his last little breath, should God decide to call him home?

I don't really know. I do know that God gives us enough grace for each moment, and that He just wants us to trust that He is who He says He is. He has surrounded us with wonderful people who are being His hands and His feet to us every day.

On Wednesday we have another ultrasound with the perinatologist at the maternal-fetal medicine group. In some ways I am excited becuase we'll get to "see" our sweet baby boy. I am hoping I'll get the chance to both see and feel him move at the same time. Would you please pray for us for that ultrasound? Would you please pray for a miracle, that God would heal Isaac's little spine, unteather his spinal cord, grow his lungs, and heal the omphalocele? Would you please also pray for wisdom for the doctor as he reads and interprets what he's seeing, and that he could clearly convey that information to us and the implications for Isaac? Would you please pray for wisdom for Spencer and I as we think through all that we hear, as we'll be meeting with the neonatologist the following week at the hospital where I'll be delivering to discuss our wishes for Isaac's birth? And would you please pray for continued comfort and peace for us, grace for each step of the journey, and the courage to love little Isaac as perfectly as possibly while he's with us?