The theme for today is: Not giving up.

My running life is like my prayer life. It goes well for several days, even weeks, but rarely for months. Panting. Gasping. Just give up. Nothing much seems to change. A waste of time. A waste of breath.

Psalm 61:1. God listens.

David is overwhelmed. David must have felt like giving up. Throwing in the towel. He’s far from home. Exiled. Expelled. An outcast. He laments. He cries. He shouts. He cries and shouts from the end of the earth. He’s desperate and feels so far away. He must have been out of breath. But he keeps praying. He’s not just venting. He wants an audience. He’s not just content to get the words out. He’s not praying a form prayer. This prayer is not just out of ritual or habit. He’s not just satisfied to get a prayer in and then carry on. He wants more. He asks for more. He asks God to listen, to attend to his prayer, to set aside time for his prayer, to prioritize his prayer.

Children of God cry, shout, and pray unceasingly knowing that their words are literally breathed into God’s ears. They don’t pray on their own. They pray in the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit. No place is too far off, too deplorable, or too dreary to cry to God. Even when panting. Even when gasping.

Running for Zach. We’ve been reminded again today that Zach is in a marathon. We’re in a marathon. A running marathon. A praying marathon. No giving up. Just giving over. Praying is not a waste of time. Praying is not a waste of breath.

Today’s Updates:

Zach had a restless night and didn’t sleep much. The new doctor for this week changed his medications to hopefully settle him without sedating him. Zach responded well to the new meds and was settled for most of the day. We’re continuing on in patience, reminded by the doctors that this journey will be months long at least.

Zach was taken off the ventilator again this morning. They put him on a “trach mask” which is an oxygen mask that goes over his tracheostomy. He’s breathing well and the doctor wants to keep him off the ventilator overnight if he continues to tolerate it. We’re once again impressed with Zach’s amazing lungs which allow this progress despite only having about a quarter of his baseline lung capacity with his pneumonia!

Zach’s chest x-ray today showed decreased air and fluid around the lungs which is good, but the doctors plan to keep the chest tubes in for a few more days to make sure everything is drained.

Zach has lost some weight since being in the ICU so the dietician adjusted his feed to give him a large breakfast, lunch and dinner instead of the continuous feed through his feeding tube. We know that Zach has a fast metabolism so we’re hoping this high caloric diet helps him stay at a healthy weight.

“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.” (Psalm 61:1)

”Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“ (Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7‬)