Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Grace in ALL Things

It's been a week-and-a-half since it happened, our Big Scare. I have not blogged about it because I was not sure quite what to say...how much to say. But I feel the need to record this in a place that can remind me regularly of what I have learned and gleaned from something rather traumatic. So here is my reminder to myself. Feel free to "listen in." (Nancy, this should sound familiar to you!)



I've always wondered, deep down, what my response to crisis would be--if I would find that peace that surpasses understanding mentioned so often in the pages of my Bible. Well, now I know. Peace really is there, and I experienced it, and all I can say is that I am amazed. Amazed by God and what He showed me about His own work in my heart; amazed by His power to heal and really make all things new; amazed by my husband's deep love for us, his family; amazed by the untold plans God has for each of my children. 

I can say all this now because of a story that is forever part of our story
Two Saturdays ago, Tai fell head-first from the top bunk of a double-decker bed onto the cement floor. Shawn found Tai crumpled on the floor, unconscious, eyes rolled back, blue and not breathing. When Tai finally regained consciousness and started breathing again, his cry was eery--not like him. His eyes could not focus, and his body was limp. We thought his life--our life--was forever changed. Shawn kept saying, "Tai! Tai! Oh God..."
We rushed him to the local hospital. On the way to Kiwoko, I kept singing him songs and praying over him. At one point Tai tried to grab my hand, and upon arriving he was able to focus his eyes and look at me for the first time. I have never been so excited about something so small. At the hospital, we kept pleading for a doctor, but all we received were a couple of nurses telling us to "calm down." They took his temperature and told us they needed to examine Tai first to see whether or not he needed a doctor. I was livid and had to step outside the curtained room so Tai couldn't see my emotion. Tai finally stopped his eery cry and began crying more like himself. He attempted to talk, though it was slurred at first. 



Then, almost within an instant, he was able to not only sit up but tell us clearly what exactly happened. 


Talk about relief! It was then we decided we could better care for Tai at home, and we left. At home, Tai vomited in the evening and again in the morning. He experienced these waves of lethargy and nausea, followed by periods of alertness and energy. So we decided to take him into Kampala, our capital city. We were advised to stay the night in town and to continue watching him closely, but he improved quite quickly after the 24-hour mark. When he finally began laughing again and playing with Ava and AJ, Shawn and I commented on how healing that was for us. 

Our two days in Kampala were not uneventful, though. A policeman threatened to throw Shawn in prison (someone recently told us Uganda is the second most corrupt country in the world), a boda boda (motorcycle) driver drove right into our vehicle, and during lunch Tai was served a sandwich that had had tomatoes merely taken off (despite Shawn's very stern warning while ordering that our son has a life-threatening tomato allergy and could not have anything that had even so much as touched a tomato...). Nothing terrible resulted from any of these happenings (I have incredible tomato seed-spotting eyes!), but they definitely took their toll on our emotions. 

We are tired, and we are more than ready for our home assignment, which is only one month away. But more than that, we are thankful for the Grace In All Things (have you read One Thousand Gifts?) that reveals beauty and goodness even in the dark moments of life. Even in that moment when we thought our life was forever changed, I knew even then that God was with us and all was good. Yet now, on the other side of that moment, we are also thankful that Tai, our child who insists day after day to live outside the box as much as possible, is once again seeing the world with wide-eyed wonder. 



We are thankful for Life.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

thanks for this, courtney!

Michelle said...

Courtney, I'm not sure if you remember me, but we met at Lost Valley in 07. I'd just gotten back from working in Senegal. I love reading your blog and praying for you all. My heart goes out to you in this scare. I am so thankful Tai is okay and look forward to further updates! Y'all remain in my prayers.

//nancy said...

<3.

sarah in the woods said...

Praise God for His healing and watchfulness over each one of us!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Praise God, Tai is alright! I enjoy readying your blog and check it quite frequently.
I wish you safety the last weeks before you return to the states!

Kerri said...

Wow Courtney. I am soooo thankful to hear he is okay. What a scary situation! I'm thankful for God's peace admist the storm and for the strength you and your husband were able to have during the scare. So so glad he is healed and alright!!

Shawn & Courtney said...

Thank you for all the caring comments!
Michelle, I definitely remember you :) thanks for keeping up with us!

W-S Wanderings said...

I don't even know how to find words for this. Perhaps because you already did, so poignantly. So wisely.

Cyber hugs...

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