Music to Our Ears

I'm not very good at keeping secrets, although I admit I've been keeping one for about a month now. To catch a glimpse of what I've been "hiding", check out the video below:

In case you couldn't quite figure out the tune, Jonathon is playing "Little Brown Jug", the VERY first thing he learned to play on the guitar, compliments of his grandfather, Big Hal (my dad). That song was the beginning of Jonathon's interest in learning to play, so it seems fitting that it would be one of the first he would re-learn. He played this along with a few other "teasers" on Christmas night for us and promises that he will continue to work on regaining this very special gift he has. I am amazed that even though it's been almost four years, God is STILL answering our prayers forJonathon. It makes me think of Hebrews 11:18 where we learn that "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

We have no idea where God is leading any of us, but by faith we desire to go where He wants us to be! With the progress Jonathon has made, how could any of us doubt God's plans and desires for us?

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

For as long as I can remember since having children, we've waited until Christmas morning to place baby Jesus in our Nativity. I wanted my children to fully appreciate that we were celebrating the birth of our Savior and to be excited about that moment when He arrived. I didn't want the placing of the Nativity to simply be another decoration we hauled out every year, only to pack away and forget about until the next Christmas season arrived. I wanted it to MEAN something to them. This year--without fanfare--as the rest of the family still slept, I quietly placed our baby Jesus into His "spot" in the stable and felt an overwhelming sense of calm as well as a bit of sadness that we hadn't made a production out of placing Him in the stable. I reflected for a moment and then realized that's exactly how He DID arrive........quietly, while much of the world was still sleeping, in a tiny stable in a tiny town. Whew! Talk about that crazy feeling you get inside when something more powerful than you've ever felt takes over your body! I could almost feel my heart racing! I stared for a moment at that tiny porcelain baby staring back at me from His tiny porcelain manger, and for a brief moment I even thought, "His eyes should be closed; He's supposed to be sleeping in the manger." And the next moment, I realized that His eyes had always been on me, on us! What a beautiful, beautiful Birthday Boy! I closed my eyes and thanked our God for the Son He so generously gave so that we might be saved from ourselves and find shelter from all our storms. I thanked Him again for the beautiful family He has blessed me with and for the miracle He gave us nearly four years ago in sparing our Jonathon. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Merry Christmas, Everyone! I hope that your Christmas has been as blessed as ours.......

Still grateful for your prayers,
Mary

Oh, Christmas Tree: Or around here...Glory, Glory to Old Georgia!

I'm posting a picture of the tree in Jonathon's room, one that was first decorated in 2005, the year he moved into his "new" room. At that time, we decided that a Georgia (as in UGA) tree would be appropriate since the theme of the entire room was red, black, and definitely Bulldog! As I put the tree up this year, I couldn't help but be amazed that this is the FOURTH year that I've been able to do this! I continue to be amazed at just how far we've all traveled in Jonathon's recovery--Jonathon, of course, most of all. His endurance, determination, and spirit are a constant source of wonder for me. I often ask myself if I had been faced with the same challenges as he has whether I would have risen to them as he so consistently has. I'd like to think I would, but I often think that I wouldn't have had the strength. (I AM old, after all! Haha!) I try hard not to dwell on the past, and for the most part I think I do a pretty good job, but I know without a doubt that the past few years have totally shaped our present. Although our lives have returned to a degree of normalcy, none of us will ever view "normal" in the same way again. Just last night, in fact, David anwered the phone, and when I heard him respond to the caller with "Yes, we're Jonathon Clark's parents", I literally felt myself struggling to breathe. Jonathon didn't come home this past weekend, so I feared that this was some sort of notification call. Crazy, isn't it? David was doing his best to give me signals to let me know everything was okay, but by the time the call ended I was crying like a baby! Talk about coming unglued! (And the truth is........it was merely someone soliciting funds for UGA!) Ah well, I guess that as tough as we try to be, a mama's heart is a fragile thing.

On a lighter note, I'm including some other photos of Jonathon's UGA room. Is it any wonder that when he's home, we have to pry him out of his "Dawg" house? Yeah, he really has it rough.........or should that be "ruff"?

Complete with the "G" And.......UGA
And a place for some Dawg talk....
As well as some Dawg food.....

(yes, those are signed photos of Vince Dooley and

Mark Richt on the wall as well as one of the team!)

And definitely a place for a Dawg to rest!

Great is Thy faithfulness,Great is Thy faithfulness,

Morning by morning new mercies I see:

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

THE ART OF "THANKSLIVING"

Isn't this awesome? I received this from a dear friend; I think it's great!

THE ART OF "THANKSLIVING"

It is gratitude in action.
It is applying Albert Schweitzer's philosophy....
"The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything..
He who has learned this, knows what it means to live"
It is thanking God for the gift of life...
by living it triumphantly.
It is thanking God for all that men and women have done for you...
by doing things for others.
It is thanking God for opportunities...
by accepting them as a challenge to achievement.
It is by thanking God for happiness....
by striving to make others happy.
It is thanking God for beauty....
by helping to make the world more beautiful.
It is thanking God for inspiration....
by trying to be an inspiration to others.
It is thanking God for health and strength....,
by the care and reverence you show your body.
It is thanking God for each new day....
by living it to the fullest.
It is thanking God by giving hands, arms, legs and voice....
to your thankful hearts.
It is adding to your prayers of thanksgiving....
acts of "THANKSLIVING"!

Giving Thanks

My 2008 list of "thankful fors":

• a God who knows my name and loves me unconditionally
• my husband of more than 32 years who loves me because of who I am (and often in spite of it)
• my three amazing sons who honor me and bring me joy every day
• my three beautiful daughters who each bless me in her own unique way--one I was blessed to have given birth to and of whom I am immensely proud, one who blessed us by loving our son and becoming his wife, and one who became family to us after the Lord called her mother home this year
• my brothers and their families as well as David's sisters, brother-in-law, and nephews who have stood by us through our highs and our lows and have given us so many beautiful memories
• my friends who keep me grounded in my faith and who are always there to lend a hand, a shoulder, or simply an ear
• Jonathon's continued progress and constant gratitude for the miracles God has granted him
• the song in my heart and the hope I carry within me.

As I review my list, I am struck by how short it seems, but I realize, too, that there is really no way for me to adequately express my gratitude for all that I am and all that I have in this life. By the grace of God, we have celebrated another Thanksgiving, and by His grace alone will we do it all again next year. Thank you, Lord, for the joys AND the sorrows. We are grateful for the journey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How blessed we are.

The Clark side of my gratitude list

Hope

Jonathon and I just returned from a trip to the Shepherd Center to visit with (and finally meet) a young man for whom we have prayed the last couple of months. His name is Ryan but it could just as easily be Tom, or Bob, or Matt or yes, of course, Jon. Every patient there, in fact, has the same name whether they are male or female, black or white, Christian or not.......they each bear the name "Hope", and even though the patient may not be aware of his or her new name, it is ever-present in the eyes of family members and friends. To have survived whatever medical situation brought them to Shepherd is probably the first hope fulfilled for each patient and family there. As they each begin the therapy phase of recovery, a renewed hope is born. It becomes palpable. It becomes contagious. It becomes consuming, and to be honest, it can sometimes become tiring......not the hope itself, but the daily challenges that must be faced in order to continue to have that hope. I fear that I am rambling a bit, but if you have ever shared in the journey of a friend or loved one who is traveling the road to recovery, you will "get it".

After meeting for a short time with Ryan and his beautiful wife and a dear friend of hers, Jon and I took a trip down Memory Lane, touring the newly renovated Aquired Brain Injury wing. I can honestly say Memory Lane because even I was surprised at the number of faces and names Jonathon recognized and remembered. There were about five different nurses and techs that he called by name! I think that THEY were even more surprised than me! One, in fact, told me that while they are always excited to have patients return, it is rare for a patient to even remember them. He said that they understand this because of the way a brain injury affects the patient, but that it is so rewarding for them to have a patient actually remember their name or anything about them! He said it is far more common for a patient to return and for them to "carry on" about how well the patient is doing, only to have the patient look at them with a blank stare as if to say, "WHO are you?" I guess having Jonathon recognize so many of them was indeed a blessing.....

We also found Jonathon's old room in the "quad" and had the opportunity to speak with the wife of the patient who now occupies his old space in that area. Her husband had survived a near-fatal accident that left him comatose for six weeks, but who was slowly making his way back. She was gracious enough to let us go into the room and chat, and at the end of our visit actually thanked us for bringing them a renewed hope for her husband's future. They had travelled to Shepherd from Tupelo, Mississippi, looking for a miracle. As we left the room, the wife hugged and thanked us for stopping by and especially Jonathon for the inspiration he was for them. How awesome that God allowed Jonathon to do that for this family!

This post, then, is for all of those patients at Shepherd and everywhere who are struggling to return to their former lives....whose families hold daily vigils for them as they struggle to return to what will be the new "normal" for them. To each of those families, I lift my cup and say, "Blessings to each of you; may God be with you. You are exactly where God wants you to be, and HE who has brought you this far knows the plans He has for you!" Trust Him.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Holy Water

A friend just sent me an email that I've received and read before, but today it took on a whole new meaning for me. It's the one about the little boy who wets his pants in school and is terrified of the ridicule he is sure to receive, but who is "rescued" at the last minute by a little girl in his class who "trips" as she carries the goldfish bowl and spills water from it into the little boy's lap. At the end of the day, the little boy asks her if she did it on purpose and she tells him that she, too, wet her pants once in school. The final message is to remind us to seize every opportunity to do good.

Well, last weekend we saw several examples of people who seized the opportunity to "do good". Jonathon and I traveled to Columbia, South Carolina, to visit my brother and attend the South Carolina/LSU game.......yes, Jonathon cheered for a team OTHER than the Bulldogs (remember, he's a family man FIRST). Prior to the game, we tailgated with my nephew's fraternity, and I was definitely impressed with the reception Jonathon got from the group. They chatted with him and welcomed him in a true southern manner. My nephew had arranged for one of their associates (a.k.a. pledge) to drive us to the stadium before the game which minimized the amount of walking Jonathon would have to do. We were then allowed to ride the elevator with him to the upper deck where our seats were located (yeah, I think my brother was impressed!) When we decided to leave in the 3rd quarter, we planned to walk back to my brother's truck, but a guardian angel offered his services (in a "stretch" golf cart) and drove us right to my brother's truck! At first he said he'd get us as close as he could, but in the end drove us within a few feet of where we needed to be! Talk about seizing the opportunity!

We have been blessed so many times by those who have seized the opportunity to do good. Every time I see someone offer their assistance to Jonathon (when not doing so would have been so much easier), I am reminded of the story of the little girl who purposefully spills water in her classmate's lap. We each have opportunities every day to make another feel less conspicuous........do we always take advantage of those opportunities? I doubt it. In Columbia, South Carolina, however, we were honored to be part of a small group of individuals who determined that spilling a little water in his lap might just make him feel that much more accepted. Bulldogs? Gamecocks? Does it really matter? Not when we choose to do good......Thank God for those who seize the opportunity!

Cracking the Books

Jonathon is off to a great start this fall! He is taking a full class load (12 hours) for the first time since returning to school and is doing really well. I admit that we' ve been very worried about how he would manage, but so far he's doing great. He has taken tests in three of his classes and made "B"s on each. He has also written a paper for one class and received a score of 23 out of 25 possible points. Not bad for the kid that the doctors said would "likely be in a vegetative state" if he survived his first surgery three years ago! We have been unbelievably blessed in Jonathon's recovery.

He is again living in the fraternity house, perhaps not the most ideal living arrangement for him, but one that works considering that it is necessary for him to live on campus for his transportation needs. Like last year, transportation services picks him up at the house for each of his classes and drops him back there after each class (or wherever on campus he needs to go such as the dining hall or other campus building). It is really a wonderful service. Surprisingly (to me anyway), I no longer worry each day if he is "where he's supposed to be" or whether he's done his homework. I have learned that I have to back off and trust that he is capable of returning to college and making it on his own there. After all, God brought him this far; why would I doubt now that He would simply abandon Jonathon? As Jonathon himself reminds us, he is quite able to do for himself and no longer needs our constant "hovering". (That is definitely easier said than done!) Will I ever stop worrying? "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." ~ Philippians 4:6

So along with classes goes the REAL reason Jonathon loves being back on campus.......his beloved Bulldogs! Although this past Saturday was a bit of a disappointment (that's definitely an understatement), there is nowhere else besides Athens, Georgia, he'd rather be on a Saturday in the fall. He even made it out to the quad to catch a picture with Jeff in front of the College GameDay bus last weekend! Obviously, this was taken BEFORE the game.......note the smiles on their faces! Ah well, the Dawgs will get a break this weekend, and Jonathon can come home for some much needed rest. The following weekend the Vols roll into town, and THAT, my friends, is another story!