Worth the Fight

Our family has been spending quite a bit of time in the book of Job lately.

Job is described as a man who was "blameless and upright" and one who "feared God and turned away from evil." Satan came to God questioning and challenging the seemingly effortless faith that Job had in His goodness and sovereignty saying, "you have blessed the work of his (Job's) hands, and in his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." Although I am certain that He did not need to prove anything to the enemy, The Lord allowed Satan to test his faithful servant.


In the following chapters, we get a window into the immense suffering, pain, and anguish that was brought upon Job. Many times, Job wishes that he has never been born and even curses the day that his life began. All this to say...Job maintains his integrity. He says, "my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days." Living in pain and suffering greater than he can imagine....through Job, the Lord instructs us to trust in Him above all else.

Job's friend Eliphaz says to Job, "for he wounds and binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal." Kaitlin's vertebrates have been shattered and her body undeniably wounded. We found out a few days ago that John does indeed have type one diabetes. The stress of the last month has brought out the symptoms of his diabetes, but not caused it...meaning this life change is completely separate from Kaitlin's accident. From a beautiful wedding, to the unfathomable trenches. Yet, the same hope that was so apparent when they took their vows on that beautiful day in June is just as apparent today as they lay in the hospital bed together. We hope in HIM. We trust in Him. We wake up each morning and remind ourselves that "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

As John mentioned in his last post, we don't know why this happened or how to answer the question, "did the Lord do this to Kaitlin?" What we do know? He binds up. He heals. He makes all things new. Today, tomorrow, in a year, in 5 years, at the end of our lives when we go to be with him in heaven. We are confident that who God is does not depend on who we are or what we are going through.

In John & Kait's wedding, my husband Daniel & Kait's sister Megan sang the hymn "Help my Unbelief." They lyrics say, "I would but cannot rest in God's most holy will; I know what He appoints is best and murmur at it still." It is hard to believe y'all. This morning, as I read about Job and his anguish and mourn Kait and John's anguish...it is hard to believe. My heart finds peace in this: it is so worth the fight.

One of my kindergarten students had a cut on his finger the other day and asked for a bandaid. While I was putting it on him, he said casually (and with complete confidence), "Mrs. Thompson, God is going to heal this cut."The only thing I could do was scoop him up in a giant hug and tell him thank you for the reminder. Let's pray to have faith like a child.

I'm praying over all of us this morning...all of us who resonate with this very real feeling of unbelief. That we would confess this to the one who pursues and loves us best. That we would find hope in His son-sent by the Father so that we could have life. There is no greater love! There is no greater hope.

Kait has her off-campus pass and has been to Caribou coffee, the Copper Pot for dinner and to the park. She is processing, fighting, praying and living with integrity. She is making friends who she is already loving & serving so well. She is working on transfers from the bed to her chair and back. She is SO good at finding pockets of joy. She is ready to get her knee brace off and to move rooms so John can start to stay with her at night and so they can have alone time to spend together without a roommate. She is watching Broncos games with passion. She is still giving me wise and much needed advice on things going on in my life. She is taking care of John as he figures out how to deal with diabetes. They are working it y'all. Keep the prayers coming.....we all need them!

Thanks for reading my reflections & fighting along with us.

Love,
Carolyn

Moving Forward - A Chance To Help & Give

To the ones who love us so well,

I don't know that I've adequately expressed how honored I have been over the past 3 weeks to be the one receiving the majority of your e-mails, texts, calls etc. addressed to our families. We say over and over again how humbled we are by your love and your support...but the truth is, to continuously use the word "humbled" is a poor understatement. Thankful, grateful, blessed, appreciative, blown away...there isn't a word or a phrase that exists to truly thank each of you for the millions of ways that you all have served the Rice/Wanberg/Thompson family in the last 28 days. 28 days. Not one of those 28 days did any one of us go without feeling incredibly loved and taken care of. Not ONE of those days have we felt alone in this world or in this insane journey that we did not ask for and wish we were not on. Tears are streaming down my face as I write this and reflect on the overwhelming and genuine outpour of care shown to every member of my family. You are the ones who know us, who take care of us, who remind us of truth, who carry us when we can't take another step. The ones who keep us looking forward, and simultaneously comfort us when in our brokenness, we can't stop looking back. The ones who make us laugh when we don't have any tears left, and the ones who check in on us even though we seem fine. Please allow me to say thank you for the 5 millionth time on behalf of our families. YOU are teaching us more every single day about the faithful love of the God we serve.

Now that you have been gracious enough to read my pitiful attempt to thank you-we have an announcement:

John's best friend (who is, along with his lovely wife, a cherished member of our family), David, has been incredibly generous in making Kait and John a donation website to help them as they move forward. This website outlines the needs that we foresee in the future for these amazing newlyweds. All of the support raised will go directly to John & Kaitlin as they renovate their house and begin to put in place some financial structures for long term care.

On the site, David writes, "We have created this site to act as the vehicle for giving to Kaitlin and John. As you can imagine, we are only beginning to understand the full scope of needs and requirements to care for John and Kaitlin long-term. However, over the past several weeks John and the families have been working with friends, family, and the staff at Craig Hospital to begin to put together the initial list of needs and ways the community can support Kaitlin." 

Please know that we do NOT expect you to give. Your prayers, love, support, phone calls, e-mails, texts, cards etc. have been more than adequate in allowing us to see the unbelievable community around us. There is no pressure surrounding this donation site...only an opportunity for those of you who feel called to help John & Kaitlin monetarily. If there's one thing we all understand, it's the need to do something to help the two best people we know....this is in response to that need. Many of you have already reached out and blessed John & Kait financially-you are beyond appreciated. The money you have given will be going towards the items on this website.

We would be so grateful if you took a look: www.youcaring.com/kaitlinwanberg

Again, there are no words.
We love you more than you know.
-Carolyn

Showers - A Post From John

(Posted on behalf of John)

Over the past few weeks my morning showers have been getting longer and longer. In a time of trauma and uncertainty, I find myself searching for those rare moments when my life feels somewhat normal. As hot water streams over my neck and back, I can almost imagine that everything is still ok. As the water continues to flow reality always floods back in, leaving my mind to wander and wrestle with the circumstances that have been thrust upon us. Is this part of God’s will? Why would he let this happen? If it is part of his will, did God cause the crash? If he did, what does that say about who God is? If we know God can heal Kaitlin, why doesn’t he do it?

When Theology Collides with Life - A Note From Tom

A post by John's Dad, Tom:

Our whole family has been on a roller coaster of emotions and thought. Who controls an accident of this nature? Is it man’s will, Satan’s attack, or God’s providence?  Or is an accident a random event, not controlled but just a happening?

Whispers

A brief medical update: Kaitlin did have to have her right lung drained today, but they are confident this is the last time that will be necessary. She is feeling good today, and we are thankful. Today was a day of education...she went to class, met new friends (she already has 2 younger girls from out of state that she calls her "babies") and continued her therapy.

Please Pray....

Specific prayer request for TONIGHT: the doctors are taking another x-ray of Kait's chest tomorrow mid-morning to determine if she needs to have ANOTHER procedure done to drain the remaining fluid in her lungs. She has already had more than her share of fluid drained and this procedure, while relatively quick is quite painful for Kaitlin. Pray that the Lord would take away the fluid and that this issue would resolve itself!

Continue to pray for Kaitlin's spirit, John's health (his blood sugar has been too high), the spirit of our family and for walking legs without pain. I read Kaitlin cards today for awhile at the hospital (this is becoming a daily ritual for us as she is settling in for dinner) and I can't tell you how much she's encouraged by them. She smiles, giggles, says "awwwww" and looks at every single one of them with such care. She feels so loved by all of you who are reaching out...thank you.

Love.

"All Was Well."

Hi family and friends,

This is Kaitlin's mom, Sue, and I wanted to give you an update on her progress and pass on to you our current prayer requests. It amazes me how our prayer needs seem to change each and every day. Thank you all for your faithfulness to take these requests to the very foot of the cross, both with us and for us.