Esophagitis

one of my favorite photos of Grace, about 5 years ago.

----------------------------------------

I want to word this post carefully,

because what we believe about the character of God is always, always,

always

t r u e.

When I was laying in the hospital,

wide awake at 2 in the morning,

watching my sweet girl try to sleep in between nurses-checks,

God was Sovereign.

And good.

and faithful.

When I was discussing the possibility of a feeding tube with a GI nurse,

God was Sovereign.

and good.

and faithful.

When my panic was at an all-time high,

wondering if life as we knew it was about to change forever,

God was Sovereign.

and good.

and faithful.

Our circumstances never ever ever change who God is.

We firmly believe this.

I've been re-affirming it to my own heart over and over and over amidst the confusion and anxiety of the last 6 weeks, as I watched my daughter seemingly deteriorate before my eyes.

What 8-year-old says they can't swallow anything without pain?

We would have clung to the character of God no matter the outcome for Grace,

and we would have, God help us, believed that the character of God was good,

even if the news had been what we feared.

However,

in God's relenting mercy shown towards our family,

and towards our sweet Grace...

...and in God's mysterious way of hearing and answering 

so many prayers 

on our behalf....

....the biopsy results were negative for the worst case scenario we feared so much.

Grace has "just" GERD esophagitis.

A condition that is treatable, healable, manageable.

Our 8-year-old will very soon be able to eat whatever she wants.

Which, currently,

is fettuccini alfredo

and macarons. 

(expensive taste, I think :))

We marvel at the mercy God has shown us.

We praise Him for hearing and answering so many prayers for Grace.

and we pray that we would have had the faith that even in the worst case scenario,

we would have praised Him still. 

Friends, thank you for praying so fervently.

Thank you for texting, emailing, messaging...

...we have sensed the body of Christ around us.

As I have prayed for our sweet 8-year-old's heart,

I have prayed that even she would have seeds of faith planted at such a tender age,

and through all of her tears of

"why can't I eat? I'm starving and I cannot eat"

over the last 6 weeks,

she would realize the ever-present help of an Almighty God.

Grace knows that so many people have been praying,

and she knows that God has answered.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

---------

And, if you've never heard of esophagitis,

neither had we.

It leads to Grace's exact symptoms:

problems and pain swallowing,

feeling like food is "stuck",

chest pain. reflux.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made,

and "he knows our frame, and remembers that we are dust"

Psalm 103