Rise Up and Walk

We had an unexpected blessing last night. The phone rang about 10:15p.m., and when I answered, there was an unfamiliar voice. My first thought was, "Not a donation appeal at this hour!" Instead, I heard someone say, "This is Paco, from Cabo." It turned out that this was the young man that Burt and I met when we went to Mexico for Jonathan Lafevers' wedding. He was the most incredible pianist who was playing for dinner one night in the "fine dining" restaurant. Because we enjoyed his music so much, we stopped by the piano to thank him as we were leaving. After talking to him for a short while, we detected his Christianity, and to confirm our thinking, he cut loose with "Amazing Grace." It was beautiful.

We didn't see him any more over the weekend, and we regretted that we had not asked for a CD. On the day we were leaving, we were making a phone call to the states, and as I turned around, guess who was coming down the hall in his wheel chair? It was his day off, but he had had to come back to get his check beacuse he had forgotten it. What timing! As it turned out, we spent about two hours talking to him in the outdoor bar there at the hotel. In the process of our discussion, he expressed his desire to go to Brazil and minister to the people through his musical talents; he even speaks Portuguese! We told him about Rick Bonfim and his ministry in Brazil. But the important thing was the prayer time we had with him. He wanted us to pray for the empowering of the Holy Spirit in his life, and of course we did. I took it a step further and did something I had never had the courage to do: I prayed that he would walk again! He told us that he had just returned from France where he had undergone a stem-cell procedure, and that he was a good candidate for it to regenerate the nerves in his spine and legs. (He made sure we knew this was not an embryonic stem cell.) I prayed that his miracle would bring glory to God.

When he phoned last night, he was calling to report that the feeling is beginning to come into his legs. He is undergoing rehab in California. But here is the best news: He wants to come here to Georgia, and testify in "our church to our friends" what God has done because he said that we were the ones who prayed for him to walk again! I assured him that if he got to the Atlanta airport, we would take care of him from there. I want to have a church filled up with a group of people who will see this as the miracle that it is, and give God all the glory for it.

I think the Holy Spirit is waiting to show us what He will do if we will learn how to believe and then have the courage to obey! I'm just beginning to learn!

Training up the Child

Well...we have successfully completed our grandparenting solo flight! Helen and Clint had the courage to leave us in charge of both Harrison AND Major! Things didn't look too exciting when we arrived because, as Helen has said, she was fighting a sore throat, Harrison had a nasty old cough, Major had had surgery on his ear, and Pops was trying to catch his knee mouse. I knew it would be hard for Helen and Clint to leave and not feel lost, but we also knew how much it enriches a couple's relationship to have that time together. We almost had to push them out the door.

Wouldn't you just know that Clint chose to call home at the very time that Harrison was upset! I had made a quick run to Starbuck's, which was only a short distance from the house, to get coffee for Saturday morning. I left Harrison in his bouncy seat at Pops' feet. I knew he could pick him up and hold him if he cried. Sure enough, he did have to pick him up, but Harrison didn't stop crying, and Burt was holding the phone under his chin and the baby in his lap when Clint called, so I'm sure it sounded bad. Clint called my cell phone, and althought I wasn't gone ten minutes, I still felt guilty! As soon as I got back and took Harrison, he started playing, and we called Helen and Clint back to ease thier feelings.

Harrison was such a sweet little guy. I knew he didn't feel up to par, so I bathed him early (about 6:00P.M.) This was a pretty big challenge because Pops was not much help with his bum knee, and a soapy little cherub is not easy to manage! We did fine, however, and as I gave him his bottle, I really had some QT with the Creator of the Universe. I prayed for Harrison to feel better and to get some sleep. He went from being fretful and fidgety to being peaceful and relaxed. I put him down at 7:30p.m. amd he didn't wake up until 5:00a.m. I had the monitor close to my head, and I heard him cough all during the night, but he never woke up. When I got him at 5:oo the next morning, I knew God had heard my prayers. His cough was so much better, and I gave him a little juice, then snuggled him in the bed with us where he and I slept until 8:ooa.m.

Uncle Jed spent the night with us at Helen and Clint's house on Friday night, and this worked great because he could take care of Major. That meant cleaning his incision with Q-Tips and giving him his meds. Before Jed left on Saturday, he gave the medicine, but I forgot about the incision. Determined that Clint would see that we could be trusted to dog-sit also, I decided to get the job done. Burt couldn't do it, since it required sitting on the floor and holding Major's head. Major must have known that caring for wounds is not my thing, so he lay just as still as could be while I took care of him. I was proud of both of us!

Suffice it to say that the weekend was a blessing. Helen and Clint came home relaxed and refreshed, and they found a happy baby and a healthier looking dog. We had enjoyed our time, and it was a nice bonus to get to spend some time with Jed. Although Pops wasn't too much physical help, he is really my rock regardless. As you can see from the picture, he exposed Harrison to some advanced reading! As Clint said, just forget the "Baby Bunny" stories and get right into some meaty reading!