Monday

I came back from getting the kids today and one of the dearest people on campus at Seattle U was praying with Chris. Father Ely had come to call. I refer to him as dear because this is how Chris has for years described him to me and I am very honored to get to know him better during this time. And Chris was right, he is just more than dear. He told me the Jesuits wake up and start praying for Chris first thing every morning. I wonder how many people are praying for him. Riddick, his brother, and I have agreed to tell everyone we can to pray for him and Riddick is a faithful brother in Christ to his brother here because my inbox is flooded with Moravian clergy praying for Chris.

Prayer is everything. Prayer is medicine and prayer is what keeps me going and what I know keeps Chris going too. I read every single prayer to him. I cry through most of them. He is laying next to me here, covering him is the prayer shawl the women of Home Moravian Church made for him and I feel God in this place. There is a sacred Presence here. The kids are on their way home, it's a quiet peaceful time of day and God is here with us. The kids were GREAT today, once again proving we do parenting really well. Eric talked to him and then took a nap on the cot, Emily talked to him amidst doing some thrift store shopping and we ate cupcakes from Starbucks to celebrate a baby step for dad.

And thus, home is slowly coming to Swedish, more and more of our personal things filling the space, more and more nurses knowing our kids on a first name basis and kids more and more familiar with the ICU and showing their own kindnesses and helping people. This is how we did chemo, this is how we did radiation, this is how we do life. A burden too heavy for one person can be shared by four and made lighter. That's what it means to be a family.

Chris is holding his own. His oxygen needs are slightly down today, that's a good thing. His heart and blood pressure remain strong and steady and his sheer determination to live is apparent and doctors smiled today. Is he out of the woods?? They say not yet. Is this still a long shot? They say yes but less so. Do they really know?? Of course not...they are not God.

God is God, they are not, we are not, and we are grateful for that. And once again, we complete a day in ICU, our 11th. How many more lay ahead?? We simply do not know. But tomorrow, kids will hop on a bus in front of our house, they will walk from the bus stop to the hospital, they will bound in and say good morning to us and we will be a family and one very aware of our Loving God.

Grace for your journey,
Leigh