As I write this my wife and children are playing games, eating snacks, and having some New Year’s Eve fun! I am reflecting on the last 365 days and all they have brought into our lives.
I began the year 2018 much as I began the last two years, and even the last ten, working hard to make a living, doing all I could to meet the needs of my family, and dealing with the physical and emotional effects of an autoimmune disorder. My health was spiraling downward especially for the last three years and we were getting desperate in a way we had never known before. I will attempt to relay much of this story in future posts, but 2018 brought a turning point for us.
God has completely turned things around regarding my health this year. I was very sick in the first four months of the year with multiple viruses and infections. May and June brought a measure of relief and yet I continued to spiral downward. June ended with a trip to the Emergency Room, being admitted to the ICU, and ultimately an emergency surgery.
Since that time life has improved greatly. The outcome of the surgery was better than we could have even imagined. The road to recovery has been long but improvement has been happening consistently since that time. I am still dealing with the autoimmune disorder and working hard to recover all that I lost in the last ten years. However, God has been good to us and I write this post having recovered much of the weight, strength, and physical abilities I had lost over the last ten years.
As I reflect on 2018 I am very thankful for many things, too many to list here but I will give you some of the highpoints:
- I am thankful for God drawing me closer every day through all the pain and loss, and now through the healing and restoration.
- I am thankful for the love of my beautiful, wonderful wife who has stuck with me through this unbelievably difficult time even carrying us when it became necessary.
- I am thankful for my awesome family who stepped up in unexpected ways to bless me, my wife, and my children through this time.
- I am thankful for the love, compassion, and care of my Pastors and my church family who showed up immediately as soon as our needs were revealed.
- I am thankful for all the friends who prayed and still pray for us in our times of struggle, who spoke words of encouragement and care, and who showed up whenever it was needed to lend a helping hand in every way.
- I am thankful for the medical community that cared for me, and especially the ICU nurses who listened to my wife and I and catalyzed the healing that I have experienced by connecting the dots of our struggles and bringing the right resources to bare on my health.
This has truly been a remarkable year and I look forward to all that God has in store for 2019 knowing that what the enemy meant for evil God will use for good. I hope I can give some encouragement as I relay these stories and, perhaps, even help break the bonds of despair and hopelessness that are all around us today in the world.
Happy New Year!!!
Matt