January 8, 2020
“That wonders are still what you do…And bodies are still being raised…”
Last week, I left the ICU room Hunter was still in and walked alone to the nearby hotel my husband and I had. While trying to simply “do the next thing” I went to Hunter’s playlist in my phone labeled “FCA Jams”. Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s voice sang, “This is a Move”. It’s probably a gospel song I wouldn’t have heard on my own.
Listen in full (the end is my favorite!)
This is a Move
That mountains are still being moved
Strongholds are still being loosed
God, we believe
‘Cause yes, we can see it
That wonders are still what you do
And bodies are still being raised
Giants are still being slayed
God, we believe
Yes, we can see it
That wonders are still what you do
I heaved and cried when I listened to it last week and have had it on repeat since as it gives me strength and prepares me for the hours and days ahead. God will move. Miracles happen. Healing is coming in this room.
Whatever healing looks like for Hunter, I don’t know. But God does. As a member of Hunter’s medical team said early today to us, “Pray for the best, prepare for today.”
Hunter’s days are filling up now with a detailed rehab schedule at Craig. He started with a few classes today and announced he got his butt kicked and will be sore tomorrow. Tomorrow and the days to come will add more programs all focused on his rehab and recovery. I am not going to detail a lot of rehab days as Hunter is focused and motivated to show you all what he accomplishes in the coming months. I also am not writing his story as I want that to be his own to write and speak about. From this story, Hunter wants God to be reflected in all that he does and for glory to be given to Him.
It’s a long road, an unknown one. We are leaning on Christ and the wonders He will still do.
I read from Lysa TerKeurst today and it resonated with me:
“Prayer is good.
Using someone else’s tragedy as your opportunity to megaphone your voice is wrong.
Please be gentle.
Please resist the temptation to have sidebar comments assessing and gossiping and judging.
Let this tragedy remind you how hard life can be. We will all have our own turn bawling our eyes out in the seat of suffering. How we treat others is how we invite people to treat us when it’s our turn.
I’m several years removed from that season of tragedy but I still remember the intensity of pain as if it was yesterday.
For those of you suffering right now, whatever the reason, I send you my deepest love and most sincere prayers.”
I suffer from “mom guilt.” Many of you can relate. Please be gentle.
Hunter has repeatedly said, “Guilt is not from Jesus.” Wise words that offer me comfort. I try to logically address my guilt. We put Hunter in ski school when he was eight years old and has had years of experience. Yet he was in a tragic accident on an “easy blue run” (his words.) I don’t understand it. He smiles and says, “I could have been hit by a car.” Summarizing for me that accidents happen.
I mourn the future we felt was so close to him. Then my selfish thinking can flip like a switch and think of the immense good God is creating from a traumatic event. It’s found all around you, God’s love, changing hearts and minds. God chose this mountain, tree, event, and reaction for His greater purpose.
While it is painful, God, we believe, wonders are still what you do.
For evening reading I decided to open up Psalms and start at the beginning. Before I even started Hunter said, “Oh this is one with the tree…”
Our boy has deep roots and God is producing fruit in him even in this season of suffering.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.Psalm 1:1-3
Prayer requests:
For Hunter to have the mental and physical strength to do each rep (and extras, his favorite is to do a few more to a push himself) and learn and master each new skill he is being taught
For modern medicine and science to advance cures and solutions for spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. Being in a hospital with all patients of varying degrees of injuries has reminded me how broken and empty many are. Hunter needs a rehab, recovery, and prayers for a miracle, alongside every other patient next to him and in this same facility
For Craig Hospital to be filled with the same joy and hope we felt as Hunter advanced and progressed in his recovery at St. Anthony’s. God in ministering in this time in big ways and we opened ourselves up to let it happen and not resist God leading
For Hunter to continue to physically recover from his surgery and trauma. We don’t know what recovery looks like but having his body as healthy as possible as well as his mind gives him the best chance to succeed
For the family and friends not able to with us but filling in the gaps in our lives, rallying around us in so many ways. They are workers and we would not be able to juggle life without them. Pray for their perseverance, comfort and for God’s love to surround them
For ministry and new opportunities to arise from brokenness, known and unknown
For the rest we all need
We snap pictures daily in rehab and create short videos. We plan to put those into a video to share when we’re further along on this journey.
Pray for the best, prepare for today. Thank you.
-Katie