One Year

One year ago today was the day that forever changed our lives. It was around 9am when Erin called me at work to let me know that she had spoken with Jack’s doctor. The blood tests they had run a few days earlier had yielded some disturbing results and she wanted us to take Jack to the hospital immediately.

I sped home to get them and drove them to Hurley. On the way, Jack asked us if this was really serious. We didn’t know what exactly was happening, but in an effort to reassure him, I said it was probably the kind of thing that if we didn’t do anything it would be very serious, but we were going to get it taken care of. Little did we know how serious it would be. Jack was diagnosed with leukemia the next day.

This past year since that day has had a surreal dual nature. On one hand it seems like the crazy-busy weekend that preceded that day (with out of town company, graduation, baseball district tournament, Jack's open house) was just yesterday. Simultaneously, it seems like a completely different lifetime. And in many ways, it was.

Today in my “Facebook Memories,” a video popped up that I had posted one year ago today. It was of a song from Andrew Peterson that begins with these words:

Do you feel the world is broken? (We do)
Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do)
But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through? (We do)
Do you wish that you could see it all made new? (We do)

Today, a year later, we do believe that we will one day see it all made new, but that does not negate the world's brokenness and the depth of the shadows that we all too keenly feel now. Thank you so much to so many who have stood by us over this past year.  In many ways your love and support has served as rays of light that have tried to pierce through the darkness. We long for your continued prayers.

Going forward, we continue to trust the One who is worthy, even when we can't understand (and, frankly, really don't like) what it is He is doing.