going home

I couldn't be happier to say that Mark was released from the hospital last night. He got to go home with his two amazing parents, Liz and David. I can't even imagine what this week must have been like, watching your son go through open heart surgery, having to hand him over to the doctors, and then watching him wake up with that look in his eyes - of confusion, of pain, of sadness. I can't imagine what that must have been like to see your child suffer and not be able to save them from it.

I can't imagine. But God can. 


He willingly offered his one and only Son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could be saved and through Him, have eternal life. When I really think about what that must have been like for God to have to look down and see his son be nailed to a cross, to see his son suffer such a horrific death, I think of two things:

1. How extremely painful and heartwrenching that must have been.
2. How much He loves us. "Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love." (John 13:1)

The degree to which God sacrificed for us is the degree to which He loves us. That's how much He wants a relationship with us. That's how much He wants to give us hope and strength and fill us with love and peace.

It's waiting for us. All we have to do is choose to receive it.

And I have seen that hope, strength, love, and peace through Liz and David in a way I have never seen. They put their trust in the Lord. They cast their anxieties on Him. And they radiated beauty despite lack of sleep!

God is so faithful. He is so good. Mark did so well they got to leave the hospital days before they thought they would!

It wasn't so for another family down the hall. My dad said this family had a baby in ICU as well. The doctors had to perform emergency surgery and ended up telling the family there was nothing more they could do. My dad said there were nine family members wailing out in the hallway. As he told me this story, tears streamed down my own face.

We're not guaranteed anything in this life. Life is full of the hardest things, the toughest battles, the most heartbreaking losses.

While we may not be guaranteed anything in this life, we can be certain of the hope that we have for the next life, the hope we have in Christ. We can be certain that, as Josh Wilson sings, that the pain that we've been feeling can't compare to the joy that's coming.

"Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

My sister said when they finally got Mark checkout out of the hospital, home, fed, bathed, and in bed, Mark looked up at my sister and in the sweetest, happiest voice said, "Night night." Oh, the sweetness of the moment. Welcome home, Mark. We are all so proud of you, buddy.

And thank you to everyone who covered this sweet boy with prayers this week. They were felt by all. And judging by this smile, they were felt by Mark, too :)