I have often said that the greatest potential for joy is very often the greatest potential for despair.  That’s what our children are, are they not?  Every child comes with the greatest potential for joy and the greatest potential for despair.

There really is nothing like holding a newborn baby in your arms.  There is nothing like wrestling around with your little ones on the living room floor.  There is nothing like watching your sons and daughters as they begin to discover God’s design for manhood and womanhood. Joy.

There is nothing as troubling as hearing the doctor say, “We need to admit your baby to the hospital for observation.” There is nothing as frightening as hearing the doctor say, “I’ve called for an ambulance because your baby’s oxygen levels are dangerously low.”  There is nothing as fearful as watching your infant, unconscious, intubated, and unable to respond to the sound of your voice.  Despair.

In February of this year we heard and saw all of this the day before our little Caleb Michael turned two-months old.  He was diagnosed with RSV (Really Stupid Virus) and another “bug” (virus) that caused his blood oxygen levels to drop dangerously low.  He could not breathe… and neither could we.  Honestly, I have never felt so helpless in all of my life.

The question is: Where do you go when your tiny two-month old baby is hit with a life threatening double virus?  How do you respond when his little body is struggling for oxygen and thus, so are you?

Before answering those two questions I must pause here in order to say “Thank you.”  To the Doctors and Nurses and Hospital Staff (so professional and passionate) – THANK YOU!  To our Leon Bible Church family (What a joy and blessing you are to us. It is an absolute delight to be a part of what God is doing here.) – THANK YOU!  If you were one of the many people praying for Caleb and for us, THANK YOU!

So, where do you go when your child is hurting in ways that you cannot prevent or stop?  How about to the Author of life Himself!  Here are a few great places to start:

Psalm 94:17-19 “If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, ‘My foot slips,’ your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 62:5-7 “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”

Psalm 139:13-16 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Today we continue to praise God for His kindness to our son and His blessings upon our family!  Little Caleb is doing really well, gaining strength, growing stronger, and beginning to reveal his own delightful personality.