Upheld

Eli caught a bad cold and cough in the middle of last week. We took him to his pediatrician, who listened to his lungs and said they sounded clear. She went ahead and started him on an antibiotic just in case, though, and had us increase the frequency of the breathing treatments we give him whenever he gets a cough. By Saturday night he had seemed to perk up- running around the house and goofing off, convincing us that he had turned a corner. But Saturday night into Sunday morning he took a turn for the worse. By early Sunday morning we were all three sitting on the couch doing back-to-back breathing treatments to no avail. Eli was breathing hard and fast, unable to catch his breath.


(in the ER)

We went to the ER at Medical City Children's early Sunday morning. I prayed as we drove to the hospital for patience, strength, and grace, because I know how stressful these hospital visits can be, and I had a feeling we might be admitted. I wanted to honor the Lord with how I responded and how I treated those who helped us, and I knew I needed God to empower me to do this, because I was just an exhausted, concerned mom holding her very sick little boy. There was no way I could be a gracious testimony of Jesus in such a situation on my own.

God poured out His blessings on us while we were in the hospital. And it started from the very minute we walked in. We didn't even have to sit down in the waiting room- they took us directly back into a room. It was seriously less than five minutes between the time we walked in the door and the time they started giving him a breathing treatment. The staff was kind and generous, quick and compassionate. One nurse even went to the trouble of printing out coloring pages from the computer for Eli. We were admitted to the hospital about an hour after we arrived.


(in his hospital room)

And minutes after that friends and family started showing up. The flow of people in and out of our hospital room was nearly constant for the next few days. They brought balloons, stuffed animals, games, coloring books, movies, and other gifts for Eli. They brought Starbucks for me. One sweet friend loaded up her MP3 player with worship songs so I could fill my mind with Scripture. Another would call late in the night when she knew I would be up late, alone, just to check in with me and pray. They served us food and brought us groceries and lifted us up in prayer with tears in their eyes. We didn't have to eat hospital food for one single meal- every meal was delivered to us by someone who loved us. I could hardly keep up with the texts and phone calls we constantly received.

Through it all I felt so incredibly lifted up. I felt the work of the Holy Spirit within me, empowering me to be gracious and kind despite major lack of sleep and a stressful situation. And this is due to the constant prayers of our dear friends and family. Truly, this is what friends are for. I have always known that we have fantastic friends, but it is in situations like this that you can clearly see what friends are made of. And ours are gold. I am so humbled and so grateful to the Lord for putting us into a church where we can build friendships like these. I don't know how anyone could get through an ordeal like this without the support of friends. (And I am lumping in my dear, precious family with these friends as well!)

We even had opportunities to serve and minister to the staff that took care of Eli! This comes from God alone. I am so, so thankful.

We came home on Thursday afternoon with armloads of gifts and a phone constantly "dinging" with texts offering praise to God for getting Eli healthy enough to leave the hospital. And we came home just so thankful to the Lord for the overflowing love we experienced from Him, both through His Spirit within us and through the Body of Christ ministering to us. We are truly thankful for this experience.


(finally better and playing on the floor of his hospital room)

And I want to also say how proud I am of Eli. He had to endure some pretty miserable stuff throughout the hospital stay, from an IV in his arm, to an almost 24-hour, mask-on-his-face breathing treatment, to being woken up throughout the night every two hours for medicines, tests, and treatments. And through it all he had the sweetest, most compliant attitude. Every nurse and therapist that came in commented on how impressed they were with his behavior, and I was so proud. He was brave and trusting, and he was a blessing to every person who came into the room.

Once again, I am so humbled and so very thankful for the way the Lord blessed us this past week as Eli was sick in the hospital. I never want to forget it.