See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. Deut. 32:39




Thursday we went to the orthopedic institute in Columbus for another evaluation of Autumn’s hand. He was thrilled with the progress that she has made so far. Although to the inexperienced eye her hand does not look “good,” it is healing much better than the doctor had anticipated. The stitches will dissolve by themselves and the scabs will fall off. Under the scabs is bright red new skin. The two remaining fingers are getting stronger; however, her thumb is very weak. She has a tendency to ignore her right hand. I am constantly reminding her that she can use her hand. Wednesday she will start Physical therapy. This will strengthen the hand and thumb.

 She played her violin on Sunday. She is in desperate need of a bow that will work for her. I do not like that she cannot hold her bow correctly. At this point, I am at a loss. Holding the bow with only two fingers can only happen if the hand is moved up on the bow. She seems to play pretty well this way, although her grip is very weak. Sometimes when she is playing, the bow will fall out of her hand.

 One evening, as I was reclining in bed, I was speaking of Autumn’s hand. I said, “I feel bad because her hand is going to be like that forever.” My husband reached over, took my hand, and replied, “No, not forever, just on this earth.” That is a perspective that is eternal and not temporal.

In 2006, Autumn had surgery to remove her colon. We were at the dinner table the other day, when someone brought up all her missing body parts. Her quick answer was, “God sure has a lot to give me when I get a new body in heaven.” Amen to that! There is not a better answer. In the same context, I thought of our little Zoe Farmer, my new niece given to my sister and her husband as a gift from our wonderful heavenly Father. www.treasureinafield.com What a precious gift God has given them to take care of. Zoe will someday be given a perfect body in heaven as well.

 The other children are doing a lot better; time is always good. Serenity, who always has something profound to say, commented on the way home from church on Sunday evening, "God let us have that crash". This opened a whole conversation on how wonderful our God really is. We praise the Lord for His graciousness to us in spite of our failures.

 Please pray for the Pastor Shawn Smith family. There son 7 year old son Andrew is fighting for his life tonight with a brain tumor that has started to grow again. We love them dearly and know that our Saviour loves them even more. Read the latest update now by using this link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/aws