Answered Prayers

Compassion is defined as a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate it. Many months ago I began praying for more compassion for others. And not just in general for those hurting but for those closest to me. This desire was on my heart partially because of wanting deeper relationships with friends and family, but more importantly a deeper relationship with God. I saw this gift in friends and those around me and I valued their compassion and empathy so much.  Although I know these feelings and reactions don't come naturally to me, I knew God would hear my prayers and the desires of my heart, after all His word promises to do just that. 

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"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give 

you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

I definitely felt like God was using Josh's accident to teach me compassion.  I instantly felt compassion and empathy for those who have suffered much more severe burns than those of my husbands'.  My heart also ached for other wives who get that horrible phone call that their husband has been hurt.  Nothing can compare to the hurt, the panic and more importantly the desire for God's strength to get through such a challenge.

And just when I thought God's lesson on compassion for me was complete, He reminded me very quickly that He wasn't done teaching me yet.  Early this week Jayce came down with a stomach bug.  After struggling through a couple sleepless nights and him being in such excruciating pain I finally decided to take him into the doctor to make sure everything was okay and to make sure that I shouldn't be worried about his recovery.  After getting to the doctor I quickly realized that this was something more than just a stomach bug.  We then had to begin the very difficult process of running tests, which included blood work and an IV port.  I have such a new understanding for parents who have to go through this on a regular basis.  Absolutely nothing can prepare a parent for the fear, terrifying screaming and panic that their child endures through this process!  I was standing outside the same ER room with my little boy laying in the exact same hospital bed that my husband laid in exactly 3 weeks prior.  I was definitely starting to feel helpless and extremely overwhelmed.  The friends and family that surround you during these times are a tremendous blessing.  I called my dear friend who was watching our little girl and she immediately prayed over Jayce and I over the phone.  What a blessing this conversation was.  The peace and strength God provides is beyond words.  

We then began the long wait for the results from the tests and our doctor shared with us that Jayce had an infection in his intestines.  He could have sent us home and let Jayce's body continue to fight through the infection but decided to go ahead and admit him into the hospital to get some fluids going to help with his dehydration and some medicine to help with the stomach pains.  As exhausted as we all were, we were so grateful our little dude started to get some relief.  

Sissy came to visit and didn't hesitate to crawl up in the bed with her little brother and try to put a smile on his face.  I love this little girls heart!  She's had such a difficult month too, just trying to understand everything that's gone with Daddy and Jayce.  

The next day Jayce was finally able to eat something and was actually hungry, which we were so excited to see again!

And then we told him he was going to get to go HOME!  He was so excited to get everything unhooked and go home to rest.

Jayce has had to be on a specific diet for the last couple of days (which is extremely difficult for him to understand) and will have to continue for several more days as everything heals.  This has been a challenge for just a few days, I can only imagine parents dealing with food allergies every single day.  We've seen just a glimpse of what you go through.  And just this evening we had to talk about going back to the doctor tomorrow for a checkup.  He was so upset because he thinks he'll have to get 'poked' again and have to stay the night.  For those parents who have to go through this process on a much more regular basis and/or much more severe levels, my heart literally aches for you.

Although our family has had our share of challenges throughout the last several weeks, I can tell you that God is good and is faithful.  He carried us through each moment of these challenges and as a wife and a mom I hope to have a new level of compassion and understanding when someone else goes through a challenging season.  And to all of those who have helped us, prayed for us, visited us, helped with our kids, sent texts, cards, etc. over the last few weeks, thank you!  You have blessed us and showed us God's love!

And today I praise God for answered prayers for healing over these two special men in my life and for a new sense of compassion!  

Blessings,

Krystal

Pray Daily for Your Husband!

I apologize for being absent from my blog for several weeks.  We've had a challenging couple of weeks.  I continue to be blown away at how God has been speaking to me through these challenging times.

First of all for those who don't know what my husband does for a living, he is an electrical lineman.  I've always been proud of the work he does and the passion he has for helping others through his work.  Several weeks ago my dear aunt shared the video below about lineman and their passion for helping others.  This video touched my heart so much when I first saw it and it has even more of an impact on me now.

On April 25th my dear husband got a flash burn to his face and wrist while at work.  I got the call that every wife of a lineman fears.  I was sitting at work in my office with our little girl, who was with me as she had just finished piano lessons.  Josh called me and said 'I just got a flash burn, but I'm okay and I'm headed to the hospital.'  The words lineman and burn NEVER go well together and at the time I didn't understand what a flash burn was.  I was so incredibly grateful that his coworker that was driving him to the hospital had Josh call me instead of him.  He knew it would help me just to hear his voice as I made my way to the hospital.  My mind began racing and I instantly got my daughter and began heading the ER.  The hospital they took him to is 24 miles away from my office and all I can say is the drive felt more like 400 miles.  I made just a couple phone calls on my way over there asking for prayers for Joshua and for myself.  After getting off one of the phone calls my sweet little girl said 'Mommy what's a flash burn and is Daddy going to be okay?' It was a horrible feeling not being able to answer these questions this precious girl had about her Daddy.

On my way to the ER, I dropped off Miss Kylee with some dear friends and quickly finished my drive. Although I was terribly scared, worried, panicked, and shook up, I had an incredible peace come over me that only God can give.  I prayed constantly for my best friend, my dear husband, the best Daddy, my new running buddy.  I prayed for God's protection, healing, safety as I drove, wisdom and guidance to stand beside him during this time, and even to prepare and calm me before I walked into the ER room as I had no idea how bad it was.

I FINALLY arrived to the ER and they told me I could go on back.  As I walked in there I could feel my whole body shaking as I saw his face was covered with white wash cloths.  I instantly began weeping for this sweet man.  He realized right away that the wash cloths needed to come off of his face so that I could see that it wasn't as bad as I was picturing it to be, but oh this poor man was in pain.  And even at this moment he still put my feelings ahead of his own.  They kept rotating the cool wash cloths to continue to cool down the burned area.  And I stood there holding his hand and trying to tolerate the smell of burnt skin, which I knew had to be extremely difficult for him too.

The two coworkers who were with him when it happened and got him safely to the hospital reassured me that he had on all of his personal protective equipment, that he didn't get an electrical burn and that it could have been so much worse.  When one of them showed me his flame retardant shirt, I began crying again.  Here's a picture of his shirt after the accident.  You can see how it burnt the right side of it and it even has some holes burnt in it, but it did what it was supposed to and protected him from getting even more burns.

Here's a picture of his safety glasses and you can see where hot metal hit his safety glasses while protecting his eyes.

Here's his hard hat, which as you can see also protected him from greater harm.  

This was a brand new hard hat as well.

And of course his gloves that protected his hands.

I'm so incredibly grateful for all of this protective gear, but NOTHING can compare to God's protection over Joshua on this day.  

The majority of the burns that Joshua received were on the right side of his face and a small area on his wrist.  Most of it was severe first degree burns with second degree burns on his wrist, lips and underneath his nose.  With Joshua's permission I'm sharing the pictures of his burns and the healing process for several reasons.  As a reminder to never take short cuts when it comes to putting on your protective equipment, a new understanding and compassion for burn victims and to share God's incredible healing, grace and peace.  

We were finally able to head home from the ER and we decided to go home, get Josh cleaned up and then go get the kiddos so that they could see their Daddy for a minute before going to bed.  Joshua slept pretty good that night but I did not.  I couldn't quit thinking about what this experience must have been like for Joshua to endure and then I found myself just listening to him breathe like you do when bringing home a newborn.  And it also hit me that I could have lost this man, but God had a different plan.  During this sleepless night I was comforted by reading all of the prayers and support on Facebook.  One particular post from a dear friend was the verses Numbers 6:24-26.  'May the Lord bless you and keep you,  may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look upon you with His favor and give you peace.'  I pray these verses over my children every night but the fact that someone else was praying this over us was so comforting and it reminded me to pray this over my husband too!

Here's a picture of Joshua's burns the day after the accident.  At this point the skin was very dark, swollen and some blisters were beginning to form.

Here's another picture of the healing process.  This was a couple days after the accident and by far the hardest day for our entire family.  The nurses in the ER had warned me that it would get worse before it got better and they were right.  When Joshua woke up on this Sunday morning he was unable to open his mouth as his lips were stuck together.  I was really struggling emotionally on this day too.  I was praising God for saving and protecting him, but also seeking wisdom on how to help him, love him, and be the wife he needed me to be.  The kids struggled a lot on this day too.  They were worried about Daddy and were uncomfortable with how Daddy's face looked.  As hard as it was the kids and I still went to church while Daddy stayed home to rest.  This time reminded us what a blessing our church family is.  They were there to pray for us, hug us and love on us.  

And then we started to see some significant improvement and answered prayers!  The swelling was starting to go down and the dead skin started to peel, and even Jayce said 'Daddy, you're face is looking better.'

We were amazed each day how he started to feel and look better.  

What a difference a few days can make.

And here is my incredibly handsome husband just 11 days after the accident.  His skin is going to be extremely sensitive for quite a while and it looks like he's going to have a scar on his wrist.  There is also a part of his lip that is still numb.  We're hoping that he will regain feeling in it but there is a possibility that he won't.  As frustrating as that is for him we are still so very grateful and blessed that it wasn't any worse!

Wives ~ ALWAYS pray for your husband as he goes to work (regardless of his occupation) and ALWAYS give him a kiss before he leaves for the day! Two very simple but VERY important tasks we as wives need to do regardless of how busy we are!

And here we are running together again!  

 'And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, 

to those who are the called according to His purpose.'

Romans 8:28

Blessings,

Krystal