The theme for today is: Tears.
Psalm 56. A psalm about tears. A psalm about a teardrop counter. A psalm about a teardrop collector.
Zach’s doctors and health care team are pleased with Zach’s progress and where things are trending. But Zach has been quite emotional at times. The lips quiver. Sometimes the tears trickle. Sometimes the tears flow. We encourage him to let it all out. We tell him that God knows why he’s crying. We remind him that God sees each teardrop. God counts each teardrop. God collects each teardrop.
God gave us a Saviour who can relate to teardrops. Jesus. Jesus shed tears. Jesus knew sorrow. He knows our sorrows. Jesus enters our sorrows. He keeps track of our sorrows. A teardrop down here on earth mobilizes our King in Heaven. Teardrops are welcome. Teardrops are loved.
Teardrops move our Father to compassion. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18). “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (Psalm 56).
Zach’s tears are prayers. Tender prayers. Real prayers. Heartfelt prayers. His tears ‘travel’ all the way to God. To a bottle that God has labelled as ‘Zach.’ God’s teardrop bottle. That’s where his tears belong. That’s where our tears belong. That’s where your tears belong.
Life. A vale of tears. But the tears WILL dry up. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Come Lord Jesus. Come soon.
Today’s Updates:
Zach has been sleeping pretty well for the last few nights. Ed and Alice having been taking turns staying with him overnight to ensure he’s getting proper care and sleeping okay. Zach’s had an emotional few days, he will often look very sad and cry, sometimes without any obvious cues. Praying with Zach and giving him words of comfort about his God will often calm him down, but sometimes reading Bible passages will cause Zach to become sad again. It is hard to see him so emotionally distressed, and it feels like he’s becoming aware of his situation and grappling with it. Please continue to pray for comfort for Zach and that he will know that God is near him.
Lately Zach’s agitation has been explainable, either due to physical discomfort or to emotional anxiety. We’ve been able to consistently find ways to calm him down without medications. When we think of times past, it is incredible that we are now at a point where Zach can relax without any calming medications. Praise God for this improvement!
Zach continues to accomplish therapy for communication and strength building. As mentioned in our last update, Zach is now using the yes/no paper to let us know his opinion more consistently, which is an incredible monument towards recovery! However, answering questions requires a lot of effort and concentration from Zach, and he becomes exhausted after too many questions. Zach has also been calmly sitting in a reclining chair for around six hours every day, which we are so excited to see! We spend hours sitting with him listening to music, sermons, watching the TV, and napping. Zach has also been switched back to bolus feeds (tube feeds at breakfast, lunch and dinner) which allows us to wheel him outside his room! It’s nice to see Zach to get a change of scenery every once in a while.
We spoke with a doctor from Foothills Hospital and they said that they hope to put Zach on the wait list for the neurological rehab unit soon. We are looking forward to this opportunity, as neuro rehab will hopefully help Zach recover and communicate more! Zach has to progress a bit more in his physical health before he can be waitlisted for this. We will continue to wait patiently, and pray that Zach will continue to grow stronger.
We praise our God as Zach’s health continues to improve. We ask that you continue to add Zach to your prayers, especially requesting that he will feel comforted as he processes his situation. Please pray that Zach will strengthen enough to be transferred to neuro rehab one day, if it be the Lord’s will. Praise our wonderful Lord for his guiding hand in our lives!
Megan’s song recommendation for today is “Need to be Near” by Jeremy Camp. (https://youtu.be/EKyn1zBZNko?si=TBO53nirdSn4Ra-y)
“Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.
For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.”
(Psalm 56)
