'Son'spot

It has been a very good week and we topped it off yesterday evening with this great sign of our hope. Mr. Sutherland found a beautiful classic guitar for Paul and the sound of it has filled our home. Paul has been practicing a lot and it is nothing but pure joy for me to listen to it each evening while I am getting dinner ready. Paul got the guitar on Saturday and on Sunday night I was upstairs in the hallway and heard him playing a familiar song. I couldn't think of the name of it, so I waited until he was done playing and I came downstairs and asked him what the name was. He said, "It's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. I want to learn it so that I can play it for the nuns at the Shrine." He told me it was not the song that he was assigned to learn. He will work on both of them though. We are very excited to take him back to the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament when he is ready! We hope to go in November. I just remembered that on Thanksgiving day, it will be exactly 2 years since Paul woke up from his coma. How awesome is God's time? In hindsight, I can see I had such little faith at the start of all this. I remember wondering what God was thinking of back then. Why would he give Paul the beautiful gift of music talent and then take it all away? I was so grateful Paul was alive, but later on, I really questioned why Paul had been given a great deal of talent, then to have it taken away. Paul was injured so badly that I really had my doubts that he might ever play again. Once he was able to verbalize more about all that hurt him, he pointed to his left arm and hand and said it felt numb and tingling. I remember it hurt him to have us touch his left hand, hence my questioning of his ability to play music again. Looking back, I can see that he has regained a good deal of his ability to play and I have gained the knowledge that praying without ceasing brings the peace of Christ, no matter what is happening. When I would be consumed with fear about the long term prospects for Paul, I would let it go and pray with great fervency until my heart and mind were at peace. I am the #1 worrier - ask Jon. He told me once that the day I quit worrying will be the day I die. God, in His mercy, has taken the last 2 years to teach me to let it go and let His will be done. I am a work - in - progress. But I can look back and see the growth. Praise be to God, I really needed some help to change my lack of trust.

Yesterday, we were driving home from Shepherd Pathways and it was pouring rain. Traffic was really bad because of 3 major accidents in the city and lots of cars from the freeways were taking any alternate route they could find. We were stuck in the side street traffic jams. It was a great time for Paul and I to talk about all the therapies he was receiving from Shepherd. He was talking about how they are using electrical stimulation therapies on his face to help with the muscle tone around his mouth. They taught him excercises to do at home too. He said that they also are working to help him gain more balance and use a number of different approaches to test where he has trouble. He said he can keep his balance very well when he places his right foot in front of his left foot. But he has trouble when his left foot is placed directly in front of his right. He has to walk with his eyes closed, with one eye then the other and then as he is turning his head from side to side. They have him looking at different objects around the room as he is walking. He said that it is very helpful and he has not complained once about how silly the therapy is. I remember him really ranting on about the silly things he had to do when he was at Emory, getting physical, occupational and speech therapy. He said they always talked to him like he was stupid. It made him very angry to have silly things to do, like cook a hamburger or organize the kitchen shelves. He made us laugh so hard once when he said they were using him to get some of their cleaning done for them. He didn't understand they were trying to establish a base line for his level of ability. He really hated those 5 weeks at Emory. Unlike that time, he is quite fascinated with what they are doing with him now. He seems to understand clearly, there is a point and a purpose to all this. He really wants to gain his independence and sees this will be a necessary step in achieving that goal.

So yesterday as we drove home he talked about how much he hopes that he will have full function of his eye. He prays so much for the recovery of his facial nerve. As we came into the neighborhood, we were praying for the full deal. We prayed that God would bring the recovery of his facial nerve and also for his hearing to return. I mentioned that we would not limit God and we placed it all in His loving hands. We prayed for the strength to accept God's answer, no matter the outcome. As we pulled into Jerry's driveway to get Abby, the picture above is what we saw. God is too awesome in my opinion. Paul and I sat there watching these rays of sunshine as the rain kept pouring around us, glistening in the light. God will lead us on His pathway and will light the way for us to see His glory.

Jesus, He is our heart's desiring. Amen.

Love,

Jon and Rebecca