Outside the Box

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus...And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:4-7,19

Fall! Fall is a time of the year that I once treasured: the beauty in God's creation, the fun that comes along with fall activites, and the joy of eating "fall food". Over the past 6 years, it turned into a season that I have learned to dread.

BUT this fall, I am undeniably thankful and in awe of God's great provision and care. This fall marks the first year in Tyler's life that we have been free from asthmatic symptoms - symptoms that have held him back from being an everyday, carefree kid! THIS FALL Tyler is running outside playing just like every other kid, with no symptoms, during his biggest trigger season of the year. Not only is he symptom free, but we have kicked his inhaler to the curb - no inhaler since mid-spring.

And in my exuberant joy (and I truly mean EXUBERANT JOY), I stand in complete awe of God's intricate provision and care for us. In our complete lack of medical knowledge or exposure, God has led us down a path that is far outside our previous exposure and certainly outside of our "box". Certainly in our medical naivety, we could have, and some would say should have, followed the path in which we were directed by doctor #1, or doctor #2, maybe doctor and ENT specialist #3, and certainly with asthma specialist and doctor #4. All of these doctors offered reasonable treatment plans with excellent medical care. But we did not follow any of their treatment plans. At times, choosing to walk away from their plans prompted feelings of carelessness and disapproval (which I don't do so well with). But, we were reminded continusouly, that following God's lead doesn't always bring us down the path that is within our way of thinking because He holds a much bigger view of the full picture!

God knew the answer, to which I stand in thanksgiving and awe. Though doctor 1, 2,3, and 4 were extremely knowledgable in their areas of expertise, God continued to prompt our hearts that these were not the answers He had for His child, Tyler (and later Makenna as well). And each time God prompted us with a spirit of unease, He very intricately placed someone in our path that opened our eyes to a new direction - a direction much outside our knowledge base or way of thinking. A way of thinking that is outside the box, outside our previous exposure - and became the ANSWER TO A HEALTHY TYLER!

On this amazingly gorgeous fall day, I stand grateful for the way that God leads us, as we seek and follow Him. I am so grateful that He is a God that does not work inside a box, but is a HUGE God who sees the FULL picture. I am continuously humbled by the details He works together to unfold His plan for each of His children seeking Him - in which I certainly could not piece together on my own.

With my own way of thinking along this medical journey, we would certainly not be where we are now - LOVING THE BEAUTY OF FALL!