As if one brother in the hospital wasn't adequate, Matthew managed to break his arm while skateboarding at my house, which led to an overnight hospital stay and a new blue cast.
The whole thought of hospitals, sick kids, broken kids and misplaced families.... and you wonder what in the world was God thinking? How can anything good come from this undue stress on one particular family?
I'm not sure that my friend, who is in the midst of this medical mess, can see the good at this point in time. But I want to assure her that God has used her family's medical crisis to shine little rays of sunshine to people around them.
Personally, I had no idea how much I would enjoy sharing our home with Matthew. Sure, we had some moments where I dealt with teenage mouthiness, and had heated discussions about personal hygiene... :).... but overall, by the end of his stay, I was treating Matthew just like one of my boys.
The four of us, Me vs. Teens: came to an understanding rather quickly and developed a nice routine for our days.
The plus of having Matthew in our home was that I was encouraged to pray with the boys every night. (Sadly...Daniel, Lucas and I had fallen out of this routine) But having Matthew at our house reminded me that we HAD to pray for his brother, daily. no excuses.
I enjoyed sitting with the boys at night and talking.
Our prayer routine is back. And I am thankful.
I am also thankful for a developing relationship with Matthew's family. He, his mother, and siblings have been been attending our church LifeGroup for quite a while. And it hasn't been until now that I feel a deeper connection to them. We were able to live LIFE together over the past few weeks. The good and the bad. That's what LifeGroup is supposed to be about! I hope that we can stand alongside each other more and more as time passes.
I love our little community!
I have also witnessed the hands and feet of Jesus through the people who have helped out and supported their family through it all. It has been an encouragement to see people in action, and in prayer, for their family.
As of today, the family is back home together. Such a blessing.
Please continue to pray for Matthew's brother, Zack, while he is recuperating at home.
p.s. I kinda miss Matthew :)
