Good Things Come to Those Who Pray, Trust, and Never Give Up!
How tempting it is to throw in the towel when we don't see God coming through for us as quickly as we would like! But God wants us to persist in prayer, trust His timing, and not give up. Being a bonus mom to Christopher (who, by the way, celebrated his 24th birthday a few weeks ago) has taught me priceless lessons in this principle.
As you know if you've surfed around my blog a bit, my special-needs stepson narrowly survived a treacherous swallowing disorder in the summer of 2021.
He has come a long way since then, praise God! However, his recovery has been drawn out and gradual. It has been marked by small bursts of progress as well as discouraging setbacks and miraculous turnarounds.
Last November, Christopher had another amazing breakthrough. Christmas songs had just started popping up again everywhere on YouTube, which Christopher has access to on his iPad, and one glorious afternoon a few days before Thanksgiving, I suddenly heard loud, cheerful singing coming from the back of the house.
My heart pounded as I tiptoed up to Christopher’s bedroom door, and the sight that met me was one I won't soon forget.
There, Christopher sat, oblivious to the world around him, playing air guitar to a "Jingle Bells" video and joyfully lifting his voice!
This is the same kid who didn't speak a word for eighteen months after returning home from his third and final visit to the ER back in 2021… The same kid who had been working tirelessly one-on-one with a speech therapist for months on end yet had made very little headway.
The Christmas singing ushered in a new and exhilarating season in Christopher's life, one we'd been praying for for over three years! He has been verbalizing consistently ever since (sometimes, we can't get him to shut up, lol), constantly talks to himself, and now even initiates conversations with us—something he rarely did before, not even prior to his throat disorder!
A couple of months ago, when I told Christopher I loved him, as I make it a point to do every day, he responded softly, "I love you too, Lena." I froze for a moment. Then I laughed out loud and kissed him all over his face, overwhelmed by gratitude to God.
It was the first time he'd ever said those words to me: he was finally able to speak what was on his heart!
Christopher continues to attend the full-time educational/vocational art program he has been part of for the past year and a half. Last fall, he and a handful of other students at his school were selected to have their paintings in the annual show at City Hall facilitated by the Disability Art Exhibition.
My husband (Christopher's dad) and I attended the ceremony where all the young artists received awards for their efforts in front of a live audience (photo below). Christopher was sooo proud of himself—as he should be!
Christopher has a fantastic sense of humor and such a sweet spirit. He spreads happiness everywhere he goes. Now that his throat is healed, he has, incredibly, gained back 50 lbs of the 80 lbs he lost during his illness. Instead of hand-feeding him twelve hours a day and counting and logging calories to help him gain weight, we have to monitor him so he doesn't eat too much! Who would have thought we would find ourselves in this place? What sweet irony!
It's a good thing, then, that Christopher loves to exercise… He and I are workout buddies, and you'll often see us jogging side by side at the park or swimming in the pool at the gym. However, his favorite workout is trampoline jumping, and no one at the trampoline park jumps as high as he. (That I don't participate in! I tried it once and thought I was going to pass out!)
Recently, God gave me an extra special, beautiful reminder of His power and presence in Christopher's life.
I had taken Christopher on his usual after-school walk in our neighborhood, and an elderly married couple, who was also out for a stroll, said hi to us, and we ended up chatting for a bit.
They said they lived close by and had often seen Christopher walking with his dad, me, or his older brother over the past few years. As time passed, they'd noticed how Christopher had gotten stronger, started looking much better, and could gradually move faster.
They seemed friendly and interested in Christopher's story, so I shared some of the highlights, stressing how relentlessly he'd worked to recover. Christopher stood there saying nothing but wearing the widest grin I’ve ever seen, relishing the compliments.
When I mentioned how God had been there for our family every step of the way, the two responded with joyful praise. "During our lifetime, we've seen the Lord perform many miracles," they beamed.
As it turned out, they, too, were believers in Jesus!
Yes, friend… Sometimes, the things we ask God for come quickly; other times, they take a little longer. I don't know what you're praying for, but this I can tell you: from the micro to the macro, God is purposefully at work in your life, and His methods and timing are perfect.
What are trials but invitations for us to depend on Him more? Keep lifting it all up to the Lord, act as He leads you, trust Him, and wait on Him. When He comes through for you, the people around you will notice, and you, too, will be able to testify to His faithfulness!
L.B.
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