Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Wednesday!  Today was pretty cool!  The Center took Bruce to the YMCA (yes, he spoke those letters to me!) for part of his therapy. I found this out as he pulled out a towel, bar of soap and wet clothes out of his backpack. Now I know why he needed a bigger backpack. Swimming must be a part of his therapy. I am anxious to talk with his therapists on the 23^rd when I go in for Family Conference. He seemed pretty excited about this change in his schedule and he will do this twice a week. Very cool. Today I attended a prayer luncheon for the city officials in Arlington. I was invited to be a chaplain’s presence at this event. I sat briefly next to Tillie Burgin and her son Jim Burgin. She may have been there for all of 10-15 minutes and left before eating and the program began.  I spoke to Jim and said, “Tillie doesn’t sit for very long does she?” His response was, “I learned a long time ago that we have to come in two cars!”  The meal was served and then the pastors and I prayed around tables for the Mayor, Fire Dept. rep, Police Dept. rep, city council members, school officials  and many others. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours…eating and praying.

“I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

What an amazing blessing to be created anew in one’s own lifetime.  Bruce is being created anew before my very eyes. And I marvel at this new creation. And I am being created new also. As silly as this sounds Bruce speech while still sounding like alphabet soup when he tries to ask a question or explain something the parts that link this language together make perfect sense. As I try to understand all of this I am grateful that he has the ability to link together these pieces of communication with words I can understand and does it without fear or outward frustration.  This healing process is not a restoration. It is a new beginning. The little stones and roadblocks that keep understandable language from coming out are slowly being kicked out.  This work is not easy, but God is working through the therapists and Bruce’s indomitable spirit to recreate that which died the night of the stroke.

The way I see this new creation working is through collaborative effort between God, the therapists, the support of family and friends and Bruce. I rejoice in God’s creative work through the difficulty of this journey. God is the Creator of all and out of His loving choice we are made in the image of God and we have creative abilities within ourselves. We need to let God create newness within us and look at it as a sacred adventure. When we strike out on this holy and sometimes unimaginable journey with a God of new creation we become more fully the one God designed us to be,

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude and cast our cares upon the LORD and get some sleep. God is up all night anyway so there is no reason for all of us to be awake. Love you, Bruce and Gaylene