The past six months have been insane, as most of you have heard I have had some strange health issues that have caused me to slow down tons. Back in March or February I started having some persistent nausea and stomach pain. After about a week of trying to ignore it I finally gave in and went to urgent care one night. 5 months later, after countless trips to urgent care and the ER, after many days stuck at home unable to eat or drink, after countless appointments with “specialists,” we finally have an answer. I have Gastroparesis, which means my stomach isn’t emptying quickly or at all sometimes.
A normal or healthy stomach empties
10% of food or more within 90 minutes but my stomach empties less than 10% of
food in 100 minutes causing a sharp stabbing pain and extreme nausea. The
medications have awful side effects so I am not on them but I am instead on a
very restricted diet. I have to watch my
dairy, fat (good or bad) and fiber intake. I have been on the diet for about a month now
and I am definitely feeling better. I
have more good days than bad days and my bad days are half of what they used to
be. I am so thankful to finally be on the mend.
In the last couple of months a lot
more than my health has happened. I have
also switched age groups at the Church, and I am now working with the
elementary team. I love it, the kids are
hilarious, the leaders are awesome and the team is really fun. The Kids area also had to go through some
expansion and changes due to the high numbers of kids in each room on the
weekends. I was in transition to the
elementary team when that all happened so I got to start in a new room just
like all the kids and leaders which made my transition much smoother.
My favorite part of working with elementary
age kids is that they understand so much more of the lesson and want to talk
about it more. It is so fun to see
hundreds of kids hear the good news that God loves them and has a plan for
their lives. And the kids will remember
the leaders and how they felt more often. Just like I did growing up, I often find
myself thinking about all the awesome Sunday school teachers I had growing up
and their impact on my life still. Pretty cool to think that one day some kid
will look back and say I am who I am because in 3rd grade my teacher
told me God has a plan for me and I am valued in Gods eyes.
As my internship draws to an end I
can’t help but be so very thankful for the past eleven months. God has been so faithful this year. I have learned so much about myself and about
Kids ministry. Stefan and I are so
thankful for God’s timing with my health as well. If this had happened a year or two earlier I
would have been in deep water with work and financially. Flatirons has been so understanding with me and
incredibly supportive in my road to recovery and to get answers. They have given me more than enough time for
doctor’s appointments and time to heal. This
place has been such a blessing to us. I
have learned so much more about ministry, about my calling and about myself. This year has taught me even more about my
need to be dependent on God. I could not
have gotten through any of this without Him.
The BIG question most of you want
to know is what’s next! Well I am taking
a part time job in the fall as a nanny. I
am so excited because we are adopting and it allows me to be home when I need
to be and pays great. Yes you read that
right, we are adopting. His name is
Levi, he is 15 years old and a joy to be around. Stefan did Big brothers Big Sisters for years
and Levi was his “little brother”. Stefan
was matched with Levi five years ago and has been a great male figure and role
model in his life. Before we got married
we had briefly talked about helping Levi out down the road with high school and
after high school but our so called plans we expedited when Levi got into some
trouble a few months ago.
Levi is a good kid, he wants to
become a Navy Seal one day and is very motivated to do so but he also lives in
a rough neighborhood and has no father figure in his life. He is currently living with his Grandma who
was given custody of him and his two younger sisters when his mom went to
prison 10 years ago. His Grandma works
at a hospital and just isn’t able to be there as much as they need her to be.
So we are going in front of a judge
on July 16th to start the legal process of adopting him. We are so excited and so is Levi. I know this is God’s plan because He has quite
obviously opened each and every door for us. At times I am anxious but the peace I have
overpowers the anxiety. So as you can
see the nanny job is totally part of God’s plan as well. I will be home around 3pm three days a week
and will leave when Levi needs to be up so Stefan can take him to school. We will be getting Levi involved with sports
as well to make sure he keeps his grades up and stays out of trouble.
Stefan and I were also finally able
to go on our Honeymoon! We went to Puerto Vallarta Mexico on June 17th,
just two days after our first anniversary.
We were also able to attend Stefan’s friend’s wedding while we were
there. It was such perfect timing,
perfect weather, and a perfect trip. We
both loved the time together away and the wedding. A fair amount of our friends were there as
well so it made for a very fun trip, there wasn’t a dull moment. We are so
thankful for all the gifts we got on our honeymoon registry because without it
we wouldn’t have been able to go. We are
looking forward to one day going back.
Although I am sad to be finishing
my time here at Flatirons on staff I am very excited to be able to have a
schedule that will fit perfectly with Levi, plus Stefan is still working here
and we will continue to attend the services here. I will also be continuing to
volunteer with the kids ministry on the weekends.
I am so thankful for your support
whether it was financial, or through prayer.
I am also thankful for all the encouragement I was given through this
opportunity. I wouldn’t trade this past
year for anything. I truly loved every
aspect of my internship. I am looking
forward to what God has planned for us this fall. Thank you again for all you
have given, I couldn’t have done it without you.
Please continue to pray for us as we embark on this adoption
journey with Levi. And for Stefan’s wonderful job with the college
ministry. We appreciate all the support
and prayers!
