When Life is Hard!

That is the title of a book a dear friend gave me. James MacDonald, one of my favorite authors, writes it. He begins by saying “What separates us is not what we’re going through, because into every life tribulation comes. The great divider is, how we handle the times when life is hard.”

This trial has been a hard one and yes, it makes life hard, but I am so thankful for the many promises that God has given me to cling to. Jeremiah 29:11 “He knows the plans He has for you, plans to give you a future and a hope” Job 23:10 “When He has tried me, I shall come out as gold” God’s plans are far greater than my immediate problem or trial. I know that something good will come of this. He has brought me to a new level of dependence on Him. One that I never thought I needed. Boy was I wrong.

I take one day at a time. Struggling, frustrated and tired of being in this chair has been hard. Dealing with discomfort daily that’s hard. Everything takes so much more effort. Holidays... that’s hard when you can’t participate they way you did before. Watching everyone around you doing what you used to enjoy doing. It’s hard!

Another dear friend, shortly after my accident, encouraged me to write down all my blessings. That wasn't so hard. I didn't have tolook too far to see the many blessings that God provided for me leading up to this accident and after. I continue to be showered with them daily. God is taking care of my every need.

Some exciting news is that I have continued to increase my ability to move my feet on the treadmill. I have attached a video for you to take a look. I am still in a sling, but as you can see I am able to move my feet forward without any assistance. I am thankful and continue to pray that God will make me stronger and stronger.  Every week I seem to be getting stronger and I am able to do more than the week before. I pray that God will continue to give me a positive spirit and that I will be able to be used by Him in and through this trial.

“My grace is sufficient for you .” James MacDonald said “ The grace of Jesus is not fully seen until weakness is fully experienced.” I can’t get through this without grace from God.  “Exactly what I need to do is exactly what God wills for me to do – that’s the grace. It’s wisdom, It’s strength. It’s perseverance. It’s discernment. It’s faith. It’s courage. It’s confidence. It’s comfort it’s conviction. Good things always come as grace from God” He is the Grace.

Thank you to all of you that continue to pray, encourage and help me in practical ways. You are all on my blessing list and I know that God placed each and everyone of you in my life for a reason and He has an amazing plan for all of this.

BIG Hug Sandra

A great few weeks!

We took a family holiday from the 19th to the 27th. It was a great time to recharge and spend some time together. The real exciting news came the day before we left while Sandra was in physio. As she has explained before the therapy she is doing now is being suspended in a harness over a treadmill, her trainers move her legs in the motion of walking trying to retain her muscles. On the 18th Sandra was able to pull her right leg through on her own, just needed help placing it properly. Then on the 29th she did the same with her left leg. This new motion is being instigated from her hip flexer.
This is a big step, still a long way from walking independently but we are very excited with this progress.
Muscles are graded from 0-5, with  5 being an able bodied person and a 3 is being able to resist gravity. From the very beginning we have been told "we can't make your muscles go from a 0 to a 1 but once they are a 1 we can make them a 3." Some volitary movement clearly puts her at a 1 or 2 on the scale, now we just need more muscle groups to engage.
Please continue to pray for continued improvements, Sandra's MRI on November 28.
Mike