Life is funny. That phrase, of course, can mean all sorts of things. Life is humorous, life is weirdly insightful, life is downright strange. Sometimes it's all of the above. And pastors' wives often see all of the above in our interactions with church family.Take tonight. My dear husband had a wedding rehearsal in which many, many small children were present. Near the end, he noticed that one very tired, very upset little girl was playing in the chancel. Several adults sat a few feet away, watching her but doing nothing to stop her antics. Suddenly, she leaned on the crucifix which stood on its base, and the whole thing started to tip. Feeling like the event was happening in slow motion, the entire group watched Jesus topple forward, the cross crash, and the corpse smash into pieces all over the sanctuary floor.A little history: for years, our sanctuary's old processional cross was a source of some embarrassment. The brass was chipped and bent, and it honestly looked likeit had been run over by a truck. That poor cross was so ill-aged (or used, or both) that my husband began asking other local congregations for their processional crosses for funerals and other special services. Finally, a generous gift made possible a beautiful processional crucifix, constructed of solid wood and an exquisite hand-carved corpse from Oberammergau, Germany. This was the cross that cracked.Such moments are horrific and embarrassing. In this case, once the pieces were reassembled, the cross looked like it could be salvaged. The father of the bride is an amazing model-maker, and he offered to put the pieces back together. A local pastor who does woodworking can redo the finish. My husband talked to the mom of the little girl (who was hysterical) and made sure she wasn't hurt (just scared). And I, once I got over the shock and practical concerns, couldn't help but think how funny the whole situation was. Don't get me wrong; I never want fine craftsmanship that's been done to the glory of God and that serves to remind Christians in the pews of Christ's atoning sacrifice to be broken. But aren't we all like little toddlers, tired and worn out and heedless, careening into sacred symbols and wreaking destruction? The real scars we left on Christ's hands marked Him far worse than the damage left on our processional cross tonight. One was a shame, but the other was unthinkable--God dying for us children.Truly, you can't make this stuff up--the careening cross or the for-real Savior. And thank goodness for that.
Thank you for all your prayers. It was definitely an adventure in Omaha. The Children’s Hospital was amazing and made me very thankful for the health of my children. Everyone was very friendly and professional.Isaac’s EEG went well but he didn’t like the tape removal at the end. The technician was very good and is a member of the LCMS - which Adam spoke with her about. I was very thankful that we had a knowledgeable and caring technician.I am also thankful that my parents were there because Rachel loved playing with them in Kids Camp.The specialist appointment was good. She has 30 years’ experience with children. She made sure you had all the information you needed. She was gentle and kind. She said his EEG looked like a normal 6 week old baby's, however she is going to have a partner look over the results too. They always double check.
She said that since she didn’t see any abnormalities that he probably doesn’t have seizures at this time. She did understand why we were concerned because of the family history. She diagnosed him with startle myoclonus. “Startle is a stereotypical response to a sudden and unexpected stimulus. In most instances, the stimulus is acoustic, but other modalities such as tactile, visual, or vestibular are also effective stimuli. The motor component of startle satisfies the criteria for myoclonus. Exaggerated startle, is a feature of various neurologic and psychiatric conditions.” Which in our terms overactive startler.
He will grow out of it by 6 months. She also told us numerous times if we had any concerns to call the office.
I have noticed some little things with Isaac. I am not going into detail because I am having a hard enough time writing this as it is. However, my sister, my friend, and my mom noticed some things too.
So at Isaac’s one month appointment I told the doctor my concerns. The doctor listened and decided we should look into to it more. So Isaac is having an EEG to see if he may be having seizures.
There is a family history and the things I have noticed are consistent with seizures.
So please pray that our appointment in Omaha at the Children’s Hospital on Friday May 24th with give us some answers.
We would really appreciate it!
