Tuesday, March 24, 2009

God's Promises

God has not promised sky's always blue, flower strewn pathways all our lives thru.
God has not promised sun with out rain, peace with out sorrow, joy with out pain.
But God has promised strength as our day, rest when we labor, light on the way.
Grace for our trials, help from above, unfading kindness, undying love.
Though we have mingled sunshine and rain, clouds decked with rainbows, joys mixed with pain, let us still trust His mercies right on and sing His praises all the day long.
Written by J. Harvey Daily # 188 in The Old School Hymnal

He certainly has given us strength and blessed us with peace. Peace to be still and know that He is God. Last week is pretty much a blur to me. Looking back I can hardly believe that it went by so fast. I just want to thank everyone for all the prayers and thoughtful emails and comments. Our hearts are warmed knowing that James has so many people who love him and pray for him daily. We have gone through a string of emotions this past week and I am sure that will continue. We are still greatly concerned for our son and at times extremely sad thinking about his future. But, we have a peace deep within and only the Lord can do that.
Life goes on. Nothing has changed in the Mizell household except that we have greatly increased the time that the 4 of us spend together! James is still the same little boy he was a week ago, before we found out he may have cp. He is still trying to walk and has started saying "cold" and almost said "bath" last night. He still gives us that goofy, toothy grin all the time and is very, very generous with his kisses these days. It's like he knows how much we need them!! My daddy made the comment about how blessed James is to have a twin who can teach him things. How right he is! Audrey just flits about showing James new things to do and say all day long and if it weren't for her he may not be as far along as he is today.
In the middle of all this I was trying desperately to see blessings within. And thankfully the Lord showed me many. CP is caused by head injury at birth, fetal distress, low birth weight.....James had the last two. I can't tell you how many times I've uttered "thank you Jesus for blessing us with such great medical care when they were born". James weighed 3 lbs, 10 ounces when he was born and was in distress for just about 10 minutes before my doctor said I had to have a c-section right away. If I had had one of those doctors that said "well, lets just see how he does for a while longer" James could have ended up with a more serious case. I can't tell you how many times I've said "thank you Jesus for blessing our lives with this precious little boy and for giving us the last 15 months of pure bliss". Some families never get that.
So, all in all we are fine. The Lord has greatly blessed us to find comfort in Him, each other and our children. We still ask for your prayers that the Lord will continue to dwell with us and bless our son to continue to thrive. We believe he will! Now, on a lighter note I learned a valuable lesson today: It's probably not the best idea to encourage your children to pull your shirt up, poke your belly button and jiggle your fat. Because one day they might try to do it to a stranger. Oh yes!! Sweet baby James was making eyes at this little old lady in Lowes this morning and she couldn't resist the urge to come over. James smiled at her some more and while she was talking to him, he reached over and promptly tried to lift her shirt. Geez son, you can't even talk yet and you're already embarrassing me!! The little old lady was taken aback until I told her that he likes to poke my belly button. Then she started laughing.

15 comments:

Dianne said...

Hey, Dear Little Sister,

I can "read" God in your words and can almost FEEL the relief He has placed in your heart and mind. Oh, how we have prayed and will continue to lift you all up.

And, yes, there are literally CLOUDS of prayers making their way to our Lord on your behalf.

You say you all are blessed? Honey, you don't have a clue at how blessed I am, WE are, in you, your precious words, and your love and devotion to God and to your family.

Emily said...

hehehe

Sounds like ol' Jamesey has definitely got a way with the ladies . . .

Now is that a Bryant or Mizell-man trait? ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Audrey and James,
This is your cousin.
My Dad asked me to write to tell you that we are thinking about you all day every day.
Love Toot Toot

Wanda said...

I feel a peace now when I read your comments. May God continue to bless your family.
Love,
Wanda

Becky said...

Beautiful. Amazing how abundant God's grace is.

And who knew your Dad was that smart?!

(Don't forget to call first next time)

Becky said...

Tootie beat me to it! I love you James and Audrey and think about both of you daily. (wish you guys lived closer!!) Such sweet words, Amanda. Thank you for always brightening my day!

Love, Sydney (posted under my mom because she forgot to log out...which I did not realize until after writing my comment which would delete if I logged out! whew!)

su said...

Man, oh, man...

Kathleen said...

Dearest Amanda,

From the time we heard of your double blessings, you and your family have been a fixture in my prayers. I know that you feel blessed to have your children, but please know that your children also blessed to have you and Jon as parents. We love you all! We will continue to keep ya'll in our prayers, and I pray that James' prognosis will be as positive as possible. :o)

Kathleen Howell (and family)

Ms. Robin said...

Amanda Grace,
You should already KNOW who is writing this..........who else begins with "Amanda Grace"????? :)
As I read your blog today, it is very evident that God is 'everywhere' in your life........everywhere present.....no where absent. I could "feel" it. Your words are laced with powerful blessings.
Isn't it amazing? .....just how God can be like a warm blanket on a cold winter's night? (I borrowed that one from your sweet Daddy in one of his sermons years ago! It just stuck with me, and I have been comforted by it many times).........

Take care....and give those precious babies a big "H--U--G" from all of us. I love you so much.

Love & prayers always,
Ms. Robin

I love you dearly......always remember !

Stephanie said...

Emily,
My name is Stephanie Weathers. Becky is one of my dearest friends and she told me of the storm that has invaded your life. Please know I prayed for your sweet babies when they entered the world and will join you and hundreds of others praying for James again. I know you are aware of how faithful our Lord is, but trust me when I say this...you will see Him in a totally different way because of this journey. His love for us still AMAZES me daily after going through my own storm (my husband passed away of leukemia in July). You will stand in awe of Him even during your darkest hours. Hold tight and rest in the fact that He will NEVER leave nor forsake you! He will supply all of your needs...the ones you know about and even ones you aren't aware you even have. Prayers will continue,
Stephanie

Sydney Sanders said...

She meant Amanda :)

Kathy U said...

John and Amanda
All I can say is that the Lord knows who to trust "his" children with.
We love You
Sis Kathy

Linda Stewart said...

I found your site through a prayer request made on Life with the Ferrells. I hope you don't mind my dropping by. While reading a few of your last posts I swallowed back tears. The same tears I shed almost 20 years ago when I was walking exactly where you are walking now. The walk where you are waiting for confirmation of a diagnosis of CP. I was devastated to think my baby girl could have CP when she was the ONLY healthy baby in the nursery the night she was born. She had received a clean bill of health ... how in the world could there be something wrong.

At her 6month checkup the nurse who was doing her developmental assessment became a bit concerned when Stasha failed to actively use the right side of her body to participate in any of the normal activities for a 6month old. She didn't make a big deal over it but did tell us it was something we may want to keep an eye on. I was frantic so I went ahead and made an appointment with an orthopedic specialist and he was the one who told us that he believed Stasha did suffer from CP, right side affected. My heart died that day. I shut out the world and everyone around me. The specialist gave us a referral to Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children in Greenville, SC and when Stasha was 9months old we made our first trip to visit Shriners.

She was diagnosed with mild right side CP. We had so much to digest and so much to learn. PT & OT were setup. She received Early Intervention services from a local developmental center. She was followed by Shriners until she turned 18. By that time all that could be done ... had been done.

She wore an AFO (brace) on her left foot for many years. She was casted once to stretch the heel cord. She had one surgery on her left leg to release the tension on the heel cord and stretch the hamstring muscle. From that surgery she wore a non-walking/non-weight bearing full leg cast for six weeks and a short leg case for an additional 6 weeks. Another round with AFO bracing followed the surgery/casting. Stasha began walking at 14 months, unassisted but with a slight limp and what was referred to as a heel click where her right heel would occasionally clip her left ankle when she walked. This only happened when she wasn't wearing an AFO. Today, at 20 years of age, she walks perfectly. She does have a decrease in strength and endurance in her right leg but other than that her ability to walk is not affected at all.

In addition to the affect the CP has on her lower extremity her right hand are arm is more seriously affected but not to the point where she in non-functional. She has learned to allow her right side to be an assistant to her left side. She has had several braces made for the right hand but none of those were ever effective. When she was about 13 she had wrist/thumb fusion surgery on her right hand which brought her wrist up straight as well as her thumb. This is the only surgery she regrets having. She says now that if she had to make the decision over again she would have never had this done.

Aside from the physical involvement the only other issues Stasha has had that were CP related was a seizure disorder which was diagnosed at about 3 years of age. Her seizure activity was controlled with medication for many year and after going 2 years with no seizure activity she was weened completely off any medication and has been seizure free for about 10 years now.

Please forgive the extended post but I do want to give you hope. I never understood why this happened to my little girl. I blamed myself for years but I know now that all things happen for a reason and God gave me this special little girl for a reason. It took a long time for me to understand that God chooses special parents for special needs children. The main thing to always keep in mind is that your little boy is just like any other little boy only different. He is a special little boy to a special set of parents.

I will keep you all in my prayers.

Lisa said...

You are blessed. I have a friend who has twin boys that are now almost 20 and in college. One has CP and is in a wheelchair, the other does not. They are amazing young men.
At their high school graduation party they had a video of them through the years w/ "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" playing. Oh my, how we all cried.
Josh and Zach are both huge blessings to their parents and to others.
God has a purpose in everything!

Lisa Q

Dianne said...

Amazing how God works through us and others. Nothing can be as comforting as hearing words from others who have been where you are. Strong mothers, like you, 'manda.

I'm glad they found you. Shared experience, strength, and hope. There's a 12-step group that is based on those three principles.

May God bless you all.