The Beginning of the End

Remember that old commercial where it had the guy doing a voice over saying,

"This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?"

And then you'd just hear the sizzling of a fried egg as it put up a "Just Say No" campaign sign?

That's the picture I thought of around 4:15 PM today. It was around 4:15 PM that by the grace of God I turned in my comprehensive exam, with 45 minutes to spare, might I add. My brain is fried. I can hear the sizzle.

I had originally planned to travel to Detroit this past weekend to spend time with Brad, but ended up making the tough call to stay at home to finish my paper. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have finished as I get easily distracted when Brad's around. :-) I'm so grateful that I have such an understanding fiance who is so supportive of my dreams. He's prayed for me and encouraged me through these past few weeks that have been especially intense, and I'm sure I couldn't have done it without him.

Even though I still have the remainder of the semester to complete, and my assignments are far from over, for me, for the first time, it feels like the beginning of the end. The end of this season, that is.

And you know what? That feels good. :-)

Hero Update

Thanks so much for your prayers, everyone! Nate's surgery went really well, as they were able to extract the bone marrow that was needed to complete a transplant for the other patient. Nate was home resting the rest of last week, as he's still in some pain and is his energy is pretty low from the loss of blood. We keep praying for the other patient as well, as we know his road to recovery will be even more arduous.

Nate and Ashley . . . my heroes. :-)

Hero

So maybe it was a bad decision, but I've finally caught up on reading my blogs in between my furious writing of my comprehensive exams this week. I needed a break, despite the fact that time is at a premium now, and I thought it was a perfect time to blog about a genuine, modern day hero, one for whom I would covet your prayers.

As you can see from my picture, this post is focusing on my brother-in-law and sister, Nate and Ashley. There are so many things I admire about the two of them: their amazing gift of hospitality, their love of life, their ability to not take themselves too seriously, their commitment to their church and walk with Christ, and their incredibly generous spirit. It's this generous spirit that I've been especially challenged with recently.

Tomorrow morning Nate is undergoing surgery to donate bone marrow from his spinal cord to a total stranger. He donated blood a few years ago and said that he would be considered to be screened for a bone marrow donor if anyone was ever a match. The blood bank called a few weeks ago informing Nate that he was a match to a man who was very sick, whose only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant. After some prayer and discussion, Ashley and Nate made the decision to go ahead with the surgery, giving this man a chance for life.

Nate is not allowed contact with the man and he will not know how he'll respond to the transplant or any other details. That's why Nate and Ashley are spending so much time intentionally praying for him, asking God to use the whole experience to reach the man wherever he is in his personal relationship with Christ and to draw him closer to Him.

Can you please be praying for Nate's surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and pray for the man who will receive the donation's physical and spiritual health? And I will continue to pray that God would challenge me to grow in my spirit of generosity and selflessness, just like my younger sister and brother. I want to be just like them when I grow up. :-)

Nephew!

First I should give my "I'm sorry for not blogging" message. I've found in seasons of busyness, something that is a priority in my life inevitably gets pushed off my plate for a bit. In the past, that "something" has usually been working out, but with the wedding now 100 days away (but who's counting . . .) I figured I probably shouldn't skimp out on work outs entirely. Therefore, blogging has gotten the short end of the stick. :-(

That being said, I just got back from a few delightful, whirlwind days in Detroit that culminated with the birth of a nephew! What a crazy surprise as Robert William arrived 19 days early! (Which I thought was really gracious of both Betsy (Brad's sister) and Robert to rearrange their schedule to make sure that I could be there when he was born.) :-) And let me just say that Betsy has set an entirely new standard of greatness for me in that I can only hope to be half as calm, gracious, pleasant, and beautiful, before, during, and after just having a baby.

Little Robert (and I do mean little Robert at 5 lbs., 15 oz.) is just precious and it was so incredible to be able to share in the initial moments of celebrating a new life. . . truly miraculous. As we were all standing together drinking in the reality of this baby, I was struck watching the nurses who were also there, bustling about, helping to take care of Betsy and the baby. They were great, very professional, courteous, helpful, and kind, but I realized that they must do this several times a day, 4-5 days a week. For them, this baby was another part of their daily routine. I thought about all the "little" miracles that I experience on a daily basis that I don't even notice any more. Things as simple as a sunset and as profound as watching a six year old pray and praise Jesus in worship. . . things which should be far from routine.

I realize that I'm waxing along the lines of sounding like a trite bumper sticker, but I pray that God would splash cold water on my face as I go through each day, recognizing as C. S. Lewis has said, "That we have never talked to a mere mortal."

Congratulations Rob & Betsy, Grandmas & Grandpas, and Uncle Brad! :-)

One other fun fact . . . My dad reminded me tonight what the Greek word for "Aunt" is. It's "Thea." Yep. That would officially make me Thea Leah. Just when you thought Leah Leach couldn't get any more fun. :-)