Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The overwhelming support has been amazing and God is on the move! Id like to first say thank you to all of you who supported us with prayers, encouragement and finances. It was all needed and came at just the right time. For the past few weeks my wife and I have been consistently worshiping and thanking God for what He has done in and through Judah already. Its actually amazing how many people have shared similar stories of how God has healed their children in miraculous ways. Its all been so encouraging to hear and see some of these incredible young men and women of God who have been healed and overcome mans expectations because God meets and exceeds our expectations.
So yesterday (Wednesday) we headed out at 6:45am for a long day of appointments. When I say long day, I mean long day, we were slated to have 4 appointments but ended the day with 5 across 7.5 hrs of time including travel. Needless to say it was a lot to take in and I felt like I had just rode the teacups at Disneyland. So forgive me those of you who were expecting this yesterday but my head was spinning. I guess the best way to start this is to take you back a few weeks to what has been going on with us.
For the past few weeks we have experienced the true peace that passes all understanding. A week ago we discovered we were going to be $450 short at the end of October and would default on some bills due to this shortage. Im a numbers guy so our budget is something I take personal pride in making sure I know where every cent is spent. I walked through a bankruptcy when I was younger and ever sense that and my discovery of the Dave Ramsey financial material have worked hard to ensure the financial stability of my family as well as the ability to use my money as a tool to worship God and bless others. Something that is incredibly well taught by Pastor Craig of Lifechurch.tv in his series “Strapped”. What was tough about the end of October was knowing that we were carrying our house in Tx as it sits vacant as well as making the choice to give to Convoy of Hope for one day to feed the world. It was that gift that drained our savings and put us in a deficit for the month. So after throughly going through the numbers we were short financially and did not know how we were going to make it on top of everything transpiring with Judah. There was legitimately nothing we could do but pray. So every night since Judah was diagnosed we took our goldfish cracker and water communion and anointed our family in oil and prayed. Can, I just say, my wife and I after this will be becoming a cheese-it family because we cannot stand gold fish anymore lol.
During this same time my incredibly brave and strong wife began to become overwhelmed with everything going on and one night just broke down. Now as a child I remember when dad cried it brought fear because dads dont cry and if dad thinks something is bad enough to cry then all hell must be breaking loose. But, when mom cried your heart just broke because its mom crying. My mom was tough as nails and raised three crazy boys but when she cried it was serious and we started crying. Well, that same principle applies to my wife. She is a straight rock, she brings me so much comfort, peace and stability I would literally be a hot mess without her. When she began to break down holding down my own emotions to bring comfort my heart began to shatter as I watched her begin to weep. You see my wife has never been super sick, broken a bone or had surgery. So the idea of having her stomach cut open and the contents of her abdomen removed and then having Judah removed was not a thought that brought her much comfort. So for me my personal prayer was that my wife would be able to give birth naturally without the need for a C-Section.
So in the past few weeks we have walked with nothing else but our declaration of faith being any sign of hope. At some points it just felt like things couldn’t get any worse and then something else would happen. Or even the little stupid stuff of life, we were at the point where all we could say was, “Really” and then declare God is in charge. You see life and the enemy doesn’t stop just because you are going through one thing, it doesn’t wait its turn. There are some points where we felt like we were just being tossed around by life, like a small raft in the midst of a storm only glimpsing land periodically and hoping and praying that when everything calms down that we will have made it to shore. We have had nothing left that we could do in our own power to try and bring comfort or peace to ourselves. We are literally at the point where all we can do is call on the name of the Lord. And it is the most freeing and greatest place we have been. We have walked in the true peace that passes all understanding and have known the comfort of the Holy Spirit like never before. I think for most of us when we pray for strength we have this idea that its like spinach to Popeye. All the sudden we are going to have this physical and spiritual shot of energy that will help us vanquish all our trials and get the girl in the end. But, often times thats not how it works. God is faithful and gives us peace and strength to walk the road but its not a 5 hour energy. We find ourselves tired but at rest in His presence, worried but at peace in His hands and feeling like we are going to be shattered but held together by His strength. All of this equates to the ability to take the next step and declare His praises because you are one step closer to the finish line.
For us, today, we are one step closer to the finish line. You see, at the end of the month I went back through the numbers of our finances and like the 5 loaves and 2 fish there was enough. It is inexplainable as to how it was possible because the numbers were the same in my original budget and the numbers were triple checked, but inexplicably the money to pay our bills was there. And yesterday at the Dr’s we received the amazing news that my wife will indeed be able to deliver Judah naturally without the need of a C-Section. So what does this mean and how is Judah? Here is what we know…
Judah is still underweight but when we were there last He was 4 lbs and a few ounces. According to yesterdays sonogram Judah now weighs 5 lbs 6 oz. The circumference of his head is now in the normal range for someone his age and after talking to the Neurosurgeon he doesn’t appear to have Hydrocephalus and there is the possibility that the piece of the brain that was underdeveloped could actually be there it could just be small and thin and hard to see in the sonogram. Due to all of this, as I stated before, my wife will be able to give birth naturally and we head in this Sunday at 10pm so they can induce her and Judah will be here sometime Monday. Its weird makes me feel like we made an appointment for a haircut or something. So the best case scenario, now that my wife doesn’t have a more involved recovery, is that we would be home as a family Tuesday or Wednesday. But, we are not completely out of the woods yet and still need your prayer.
The Neurosurgeon shared with us that he believes Judah may have something that causes the white matter around the brain to shrink or be thin. This would mean Judah would have trouble controlling his muscles as he grows older. Resulting in walking on his toes or the muscle tension of someone with cerebral palsy. He also told us that if Judah is born and the soft spot of his head is indented this is an indicator there is no pressure on the brain and that we could take him home with us Tuesday or Wednesday. We would then come back 6-8 weeks later for an MRI to see the head growth and see if a shunt is needed and what the actual situation is. But, if there is pressure on the brain then we would need to leave him there and they would measure the head growth for a few days and do an MRI to determine what the real situation is and how to proceed.
So good news is, Judah’s head has not grown, mom can give birth naturally and we, in Jesus name, will be able to take him home Tuesday. Areas we still need prayer are safe and quick birth for mom and Judah. No pressure on his brain so we can take him home. That we will be home with Judah by Tuesday night and of course that he will be completely healthy and healed. Lastly, for continued peace and strength for us and our family. Thank you all again for your support and prayers and soon enough you will all have pictures of a healthy miraculous baby boy named Judah Zion Macciola 11-12-12.