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Edan got infected with the chicken pox that four of his siblings had, so he won’t be able to go to the Holy Land today. Unfortunately, when my kids started manifesting signs of chicken pox, I called my parents to discuss with them the possibility that Edan might get it, which would make him unable to proceed with the trip. Since Edan is now a young man, he must want him to learn a character trait that is far greater than a wonderful tour to the Holy Land, to see the pyramids, climb Mt. Sinai, swim in the Dead Sea, visit the holy sites, and see Petra (I could go on! When we trust that loss, failure, broken dreams, unmet longings, problems, and pain are God’s appointed ways of helping us to mature in character, we can embrace disappointment as something good even when it feels, oh, so bad.

He was right, but I didn’t like it when he said it at the time, when I was dealing with my recovery from surgery, wrestling with many unknowns and feeling like my future health was bleak. However, now that I have spent more time pondering on the reality that we are spiritual beings more than we are physical beings, I am convinced that God heals everyone who trusts in him for their salvation. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. If he removes all the physical problems that we go through then that’s the bonus bit, but if he doesn’t, we can still cling to the truth that he has lovingly healed us.

Caylee wasn’t fully engaged yet which is why the contractions weren’t getting as strong as they needed to be. My doctor went on to say, “I can break your bag of waters in the delivery room and you will give birth quickly. It must have been 45 minutes later when my doctor said she would help to stretch my cervix to 10 so Caylee’s head could engage fully, and I could start to push. By God’s grace, I am alive, getting stronger every day, and Caylee is a healthy baby.

Over the past two weeks, Edric and I have been having a little more friction than usual, especially compared to the weeks following my surgery, when he was super attentive and sweet, and I was meek and gentle However, during our ride to church yesterday, as we dealt with another episode where he corrected me for several things that he felt like I had fallen short in — time management, being on top of the kids’ schedules — I didn’t want to use breastfeeding a sixth child, lack of sleep, recovering from major surgery, digestive issues, dealing with early menopause, and feelings of sadness and fear about my health as excuses, but I kind of felt like they were valid enough to disrupt normalcy, orderliness, and efficiency in my life. It’s not the easiest time, but we are enjoying a depth to our marriage that this point in time encourages us to have, to love each other and to stick together through it all.