Unanswered Prayers

Let me just start off the post by saying. . .YOU'RE COMING HOME!!!! Tomorrow. Tuesday, January 4. It is hard for me to comprehend and even get excited about it, because I can't believe it is going to happen. But it is. I think the surgeons feel that you will eat better and therefore get better at home, in your own environment. You will still have your feeding tube in. Daddy and I will have to give you formula at night to make up for the calories you don't take in during the day. I am a little apprehensive about that. But we will come back at the end of the week for a check up to make sure home is the right place for you. Home :)

I have been meaning to right a post about unanswered prayers from the beginning of all of this. I remember within the first 24 hours of us being here thinking about previous prayers of mine being unanswered and how grateful I was for that. There is a Garth Brooks song that you may never want to listen to because it is an "old person's song" :), but it has a good message. It's all about how sometimes we think something would be good for us and so we pray and plead with God for that something to happen. And we wait. And nothing happens. Not only does that something not happen, but we feel as if our prayers were unheard. I can tell you that it's not a good feeling to have. Ever since before you were born, Daddy and I were thinking about trying to sell our house and buy something bigger that we could "grow" into. So, we put the house on the market in August of 2009. Well, we finally took it off the market in November of 2010. During the time it was on the market we prayed it would sell. We were sad to potentially leave our wonderful neighborhood and friends, but felt like it was something that would be good for our family. We looked at homes about 20 miles north of where we are now. We even made and offer on a house that wasn't accepted. We showed our house a lot and always received wonderful compliments, but no one made a single offer. We were stumped. We couldn't figure out what we were doing wrong. I remember feeling a little abandoned by Heavenly Father because I couldn't find a reason why this wasn't happening for us. In November, the day we finally took the sign down, I remember feeling more at peace than I had since the sign went up. In the back of my mind I remember thinking, "You know, someday something is going to happen in our lives and I am going to look back on this and say, 'Oh that's why our house didn't sell.'" Something did happen. You got sick. And I am here to tell you that sometimes our Father in Heaven doesn't answer our prayers in the way we would like. Sometimes he needs us to wait. Because He knows what is best. He knew that our family was going to need our neighbors. I can't tell you what a comfort it is to know that we are surrounded by some of the kindest people on earth. I have literally felt protected by our neighborhood this past month. Heavenly Father knew we were going to need all of our dear friends at church. I can't imagine how lonely it would have been in a new neighborhood and with new church members. The burden has been made light by all our friends. I thought about how I may have acted differently that night I took you to the ER if we had been farther away from an ER. I may have hesitated or even waited. You wouldn't have made it through the night. I firmly believe that if we are trying to do what's right and to be good people and to follow God that he will not allow us to put ourselves or loved ones in danger. We always have the choice, but if we listen to His promptings He will always protect us. I know He protected you that Friday night and gave me a little push to that ER. He knew what I needed to get you there. And, I think, He knew we would need our dear, sweet home. It is home. Every other night that I have spent there this month I have felt safe and comfortable.
One of the lines in the song says, "Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." I know that my Heavenly Father prepared us for this trial. He prepared us by surrounding us with wonderful, amazing people who have acted as His angels during one of the greatest trials of our lives. I don't think I will ever be able to express my gratitude to God and to all the people that have loved us and supported us and prayed for us. We have been recipients of some of God's greatest gifts.

I love you, little man. See you at home!