16 Weeks, 1 Day, Countless Blessings

God is faithful. I appreciate that.

Of course, as a Christian and a student of the Bible, I know that God is faithful. That is, I believe it. But, over the course of these weeks and months since Olivia was care flighted here from Abilene, where I was left standing on the curb waving goodbye,I have come to appreciate the faithfulness of God.

Even this morning, in Ezekiel, YHWH is the faithful God who promises to restore adulterous Israel, though He says Israel had been worse than Sodom, seeking new ways to defile herself. He'd saved them from death on the trash heap as an infant, raised her, and clothed her with his beauty, but they grew proud in "beauty of your own" and forgotten the days of their youth.

I don't want to forget where we have come from. Micah is doing really well, growing and improving slowly almost everyday. We will not be here forever, no matter how many more weeks we are here. We will go home. She will grow to be a toddler, and then a child, and then a preteen... Perhaps someday she will marry and have children of her own. She will have more obstacles to overcome in the years to come, to be sure, but most of the people she meets in her life will never understand what she went through "in the days of her youth." I will know, even better than she does, and I don't want to forget where she came from.

Micah is our sixth child. Micah is also our first. Micah was born on May 21st at 23 weeks, 4 days. Micah was not due until this upcoming Thursday (September 13th). If Micah had been born 10 years ago, they could not have saved her. Micah's airway was barely large enough for the smallest breathing tube. Micah's lungs struggled to outgrow the rate of damage caused by her premature exposure to the high levels of Oxygen required to keep her alive. Micah got sick. Micah got better. Micah got sick again. Micah is strong; she had to be. If Micah had not been strong, she would not be here anymore. Micah is a gift from God, His child. We are merely stewards (not owners) of her life. Micah is a privilege, a blessing, and an answer to countless prayers. Micah is alive because hundreds of believers, including hundreds we have never met, begged God for her life. Micah is like Israel in her salvation (I pray she remains faithful). Micah's real beauty is from the Lord. Micah means "Who is like YHWH?".

Micah came from God. Micah's beauty is God's beauty. I don't want to forget that.

 
Beautiful Girls

Yummy Burrito

In the Shade

Daddy's View

Yes, Her Feet Are Perfect

Micah's Favorite Place

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