Hope and an Amazing Future

Today we are celebrating the fourteenth year since our son, Jon, began his journey back to us after collapsing from a ruptured brain aneurysm. To us, this is an occasion to be remembered and celebrated because of the grace and mercy shown to us by our sovereign God. It is also a day in which we are reminded that life is fragile and we are not promised tomorrow, but we ARE promised that no matter what comes our way, we will not be forsaken and that our God will comfort us in the darkness as well as in the light.

For those who have followed our journey, we celebrate you, too, knowing that without your love, prayers, and support, the outcome of March 12, 2005, could have been far different and instead of celebrating this day, we could easily be mourning. I know there are many who have traveled a similar path with a far different outcome; for those, I mourn with you. I KNOW we are among the fortunate ones because our son was spared when the odds were totally against him.

So today, we are grateful beyond words to the medical team who saved his life, to the rehabilitation team who taught him how to live again, and to the prayer warriors, some friends, some total strangers, who joined the vigil in praying each of us through this unimaginable journey. Today, we look continually toward a bright future for Jon when at several points, we weren't sure what to even begin to expect. He has overcome so many obstacles and achieved far more in his 34 years of life than we were initially afraid to even dream he could do. He met a woman who as he told me, "saw beyond his disabilities" and who loves him unconditionally. She has been the answer to one of our greatest prayers for him, that one day he would meet someone who would love him just as he is and share his future with him. We stand in awe of our God who chose Jon (and now his precious wife, Zuly) as one(s) to live out the promise of Jeremiah 29:11. He has remained true to that promise - to give each of us hope and a future - through Jon and through us.

We live life a bit differently these days, having learned that there are no guarantees in this life, but standing firm in the promise of the next. God's providence has far exceeded any of the prayers we've prayed for Jon; for that, we will never be able to thank Him enough. But every single day, we will try.