Healing Garden

It was a high potassium day today. Krista dealt with a lot of body and stomach pains, weird tinglings, weakness. The tip of her tongue is still recovering from the mucositis/breathing tube damage when she was in the ICU more than a month ago. She used to describe the feeling as an annoying numbness, but lately it has been feeling like it was on fire. At the worst of it, she turned to me and said, "this must be what it feels like in Hell". I think she was referring to Luke 16:19-31 where the rich man asks Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue. She really felt disappointed with how bad she felt today, especially after feeling so good last night. She feels like people might think that if she just ate a certain way, or exercised more strenuously, or do something to improve her situation, that she would make herself heal faster. We wish it were that easy. It's just going to take time for her body to heal itself and it's taking a great deal of patience to get through the long haul of recovery.

We really appreciate your continued perseverance with us in prayer as we continue our struggles. Krista wanted me to mention that she is always surprised that people are still reading the blog. We both really appreciate your continued interest in the progress. God has blessed us in so many ways through this, and we hope that it continues to be a blessing to you as well.

Today was also our last full day with Becky. She has been so helpful around the house, but today she got really out-did herself. She transformed our ugly entrance planter into a what we are calling a healing garden. The entrance-way planter used to be really awful; it was pretty much all dirt that seems to attract all the neighborhood animals like a giant litterbox. Becky treated the soil with compost, planted some beautiful plants that will eventually fill in the area, covered the dirt with landscape tarp to keep the weeds out, and put white marble chips on top to keep moisture in. I don't know if you can tell from the tiny pictures, but it looks really nice, and it's also sort of symbolic of Krista's healing process. It may take a long time for her to heal, just like it's going to take a long time for these plants to grow and fill in. Thanks Becky! It's been great having you here!

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
(Psalm 67)