Recovery Is A Process.

The words in the song
"All I Want For Christmas Is You"
ring true.

The week of surgery,
my parents asked me what
I wanted for Christmas.
And my mind literally
could not come up with a thing.

Yet, I have everything that I wanted.
Still, I look at my Jonathan
and think, "holy cow, you had open heart surgery."
Or I think, "that's my man!"
Sometimes I just breathe yet another
sigh of relief and thankfulness.

Today at church
Pastor Gary was talking about
the way God answers prayer.
Sometimes it's "yes,"
sometimes it's "no,"
and sometimes it's "not yet."
And I'm praising God that He
answered "yes" to the prayer
to heal John.
He said, "yes, I'm going to reveal
Myself to My people through
this situation."
It's amazing to me that God
has glorified His name
yet we've received a blessing.

I'll be honest,
recovery is hard.
It's hard for John.
It's hard for his family and friends.
It's hard for me.
It's constantly being aware
of the physical,
mental,
emotional,
and spiritual states of mind.

It's knowing when to be patient,
when to be encouraging,
and when to just listen.

It's almost mastering the art
of reading the look on his face
to know what he needs in that moment.
It's learning him.
And gearing up for a lifetime
of learning more.

It's knowing when to cry,
when to laugh,
and when and what to process.

It's still so crazy to me
that within 2 weeks
John was diagnosed,
hospitalized,
operated on,
sent home,
taken back to the ER,
sent home again,
and is now starting a
3 month recovery.

There's much to unpack
and examine.
I just praise God that He
is a God who cares.
And helps us in times of trouble.

Now for some Christmas pictures :]

New buffs!!!

Surprise visit from Frosty :]

Making cookies!!

Happy New Year!