Update and Reflection

Don't forget to check out B&V's message below this post. Nothing new to report, but to say that Sheldon is doing okay this evening at home. Everyone had a good sleep last night, and is greatly relieved to be back.

Regarding this blog, I think we'll keep it up for a little while yet, until things stabilize a bit. Updates will probably get less frequent however, which is actually a good thing. Unbelievable stats on this webpage, by the way. Over 4000 unique visits to this page in about 2 weeks. I'm thinking I should start selling banner advertising. (To, um, raise money for Sheldon of course...) I suspect some of those visits may be repeats, though.

A while back, I wrote that we were "watching and waiting" to see what God would do. I have just a few thoughts about prayer - feel free to tune out, as the Sheldon update is done, and I'm feeling the pull of the soapbox.

Prayer is not ever a guaranteed miracle, and it doesn't take much praying to figure that out. We need to pray, because as children we need to talk to the One who has control and loves us. We need to let him know what we want, what we're happy about, what upsets us, and so on. This is totally appropriate, of course. For example, my baby daughter comes to me when she wants a cup of milk, and often I give it to her. But really she has no idea why sometimes I don't (for example, it's been sitting out all night). She asks, though. In this case, there were literally hundreds of people praying for Sheldon, and we're so thankful that God seems to have given us what we asked for. Did all those people praying make a difference? It seems so. But why did it happen to begin with? What about the other kids in PICU who have people praying? The bottom line is, I don't know. God is good, loves us, and knows more than we do.

That said, I do know: Hundreds of people were talking to God when maybe they wouldn't have otherwise. Our family pulled together in a totally unique way, and not just the immediate family. A lot of reflection was done on what is important. Churches had a chance to really demonstrate love. Strangers had a chance to show compassion. We gained a new empathy for families with children in ICU. We feel fortunate in a new way to have Sheldon with us. And who knows what else went on or will happen; we're still watching.