This is a Valentine's Day we will never forget for a number of reasons. Jonathan had a great day to start out the week. He ate great at all of his meals and even fed himself some pudding this evening. It was a cool thing to watch. He did great in all his therapy again. Our best session was with the neuro psychologist, Dr. J. She asked him a few questions and then gave him a toy with square, triangle and circle blocks to put in the appropriate holes on top of the bucket. The first couple were slow, but as he went on, he would take them right out of her hand and put them in the slot they belonged in. She asked him to compare 2 blocks and asked same/different as well as to pick out the different block out of 3. He did very well knowing his shapes and colors. She also had him pick up puzzle pieces of a boat, train, truck, plane and bus. He knew which ones they were. I was so very proud. He did such a fabulous job. The Lord, of course, deserves all the credit, although the snack of sugar free chocolate/vanilla swirl pudding just before we went might have helped just a bit!
Today was a very emotional day for me. I wept as I wrote Valentine notes to our girls whom we love so much and are so proud of how they have handled this enormous trial in our family. I wept many times as I looked upon our precious son. My heart was torn between undying gratitude to the Lord for the fact that he is alive, breathing, eating, holding his head up, moving his arms, opening his eyes, and yet begging God to restore him soon and let this cup pass from our lives. God's grace is sufficient and He remains faithful to carry us through each and every step of this path we are on. We hope that you have taken the time today to tell the precious people in your life how much you love them. Each day is a treasure not to be taken lightly.
Our prayer requests remain the same. Praise God for the wonders He shows us daily in Jonathan's healing process. Pray for his continued healing and daily progress. Pray for rest, health and strength for the rest of us as we wait for God's perfect will and time. We love you all.
This Valentine’s Day was very special because we remember where we have come from and are so grateful for where we are today. This has been an unusual week for us, but mostly for me. Jonathan had his second drum lesson on Thursday. He practiced very well last week and did very well in his lesson. He told me he thought he was going to stick with the drums. I think he is enjoying it very much. After that, we watched a movie together while making Valentine cards for our homeschool friends to give at the party the next day. As soon as the movie was finished, I gave Jonathan the insulin he gets each evening. As soon as I finished giving him the shot and turned to put up his supplies, I realized that I had given him the wrong insulin. I gave him the Humalog, which he gets at each meal instead of the Lantus which he gets once a day. He only gets between 8-15 units at each meal, but he gets 35 units at night, so I ended up giving him 35 units of the wrong insulin. I wanted to die. After calling the doctor, he said it was not a big deal, we just needed to give him some carbs to cover the insulin, check his sugar ever hour or two and give him half of his Lantus in the morning. That’s what I get for not paying attention. I hate to make a mistake like that because it causes unnecessary worry for Jonathan, who completely trusts in us to take care of this correctly. The girls told me later that once I left the room, he looked at them and said, “Mom gave me the wrong insulin – I’m gonna die.” But even though that’s what he said to them, he was very sweet to me and kept hugging me and telling me it was okay, that I wasn’t bad, that everyone makes mistakes and that he loved me anyway. What a precious little boy he is. He also wasn’t too upset about the fact that my mistake gave him the opportunity to have a real Dr. Pepper and a plate of French fries before he went to bed! I already get very little sleep as it is with Jonathan’s sleeping problems, but now I caused myself to have to get up even more to check his sugar and make sure he wasn’t low. Needless to say, I was not real happy with myself. Thursday was such a tough day for me. I was completely exhausted from an emotional day with Elisha’s funeral on Wednesday, a sleepless night Wednesday night, and another long day that day. My spirit was so sad and oppressed and had been all week long. A good part of that, I know, is because of the lack of sleep I have been getting for such a long time. The other part is because I have been struggling for some time with this issue of affliction. God was gracious to me that night. He took that mistake I made and turned it into a moment of truth, understanding, freedom and ultimately peace for this overwhelmed heart. By the time I was ready to go to bed, I knew I was going to have to get up in 30 minutes to check Jonathan’s sugar, so I decided to read for that 30 minutes instead of lie down. I have been reading a book that our pastor referenced in his sermon a few weeks ago entitled Affliction by Edith Shaeffer. God took that 30 minutes and used the divine revelation of this book to bring understanding to me and I will tell you that a huge burden was lifted from my heart and mind like I have never experienced before. I felt free from the questions that plagued me and the thoughts that oppressed me and I was at peace for the first time in a long time. I want so desparately to share with you what God revealed to me, but I need to read and re-read to make sure I know how to share it correctly with you. Plus, I am still completely exhausted and want to finish this update tonight, so I will save it for another time. I will tell you this; don’t ever let anyone tell you that there is no purpose in suffering and affliction. There are incredible miracles from God taking place in the midst of our afflictions, even though from our perspective, the circumstances never change or seem to get worse. I am anxious to continue to discover the truths God has to share with me through this book and I hope to have the chance to share it with you very soon. Now, back to the news of the week. On Friday, we spent some time with our homeschool friends at our Valentine Party. We had a great time, even though it was incredibly cold and rainy. On Saturday, we had great basketball games. Jonathan and Sarah both won their games this week. Jonathan made 2 baskets for his team and also got to do some new things. He set some picks for his team and played more defense than he had before. He got to bring the ball down for his team as well. He did a lot of running and we were able to see that his running seemed smoother than we had seen before. He continues to have good stamina during his games as well, although he doesn’t play as much as the other guys do. On Sunday, Jonathan and Sarah went with their choir class to a nursing home to sing and pass out Valentine cards. They went during church time and Jonathan went without my going with him and did perfectly fine. I was very proud of him. Once again, we love to see him being independent and doing these things on his own. He did a good job of wearing his braces last week. We started out just wearing them for 3 hours in the morning. This week, we are increasing it to 5 hours and so far he is doing it without much complaining. Monday, he had basketball practice again. He practiced a lot of blocking and playing defense with his team. He did some awesome blocking and even made his coach laugh because he was so excited at how well he was doing. Jonathan never sat down the entire practice. He was even running and dribbling the ball at the same time. He did great. Today was a great Valentine’s Day for us. Jonathan went to see Mrs. Lori first for his cranial sacral therapy. There is so much about this that I don’t understand. She explains a lot to me, but I’m not sure I can’t repeat any of it. Jonathan loves Mrs. Lori and feels very comfortable with her. We continue to pray that God will use her to accomplish in Jonathan what she can to help improve his health. After that we met Dad and went to lunch with him. We all exchanged our gifts and just spent the day together as a family. Of course, my thoughts are not far from our Valentine’s Day last year. I remember how emotional this day was for me. It was filled with joy and pain, but God was there to sustain us. We are so grateful to be home and together this year. It is a blessing that I will not soon take for granted. Jonathan continues to sleep poorly. There are some small changes, such as he seems to be a little more aware of his crying or of my presence in his room. He seems to wake up and be able to talk to me and do what I ask him to a little better than before. I’m not sure what that means, but it is a change nonetheless. One day last week, a sweet lady who works at FBC Dallas gave Grandma Cooper a CD to give to us. Her son, who is also named Jonathan and is also 9 years old, suffered from night terrors as well. They used this CD to help him get through his. It is a CD of 700 promises from God’s Word set to music. I don’t turn it up very loud, so Jonathan is probably not able to understand what is being said, nevertheless, God’s Word is being spoken over him as he sleeps. I know there is power in God’s Word, so I am thankful to have it playing through the night and pray that God will use it to bring healing and restore Jonathan’s sleeping soon. Thank you, Sherron Kemp for this wonderful gift. I think Jonathan is coming down with a little bit of a cold, so please be in prayer for his health as well.
Thank you so much for your prayers for Jonathan. Please continue to pray specifically for Jonathan’s sleeping. Please pray for the healing needed to resolve this issue. Pray that he will sleep in peace and that his mind will be at rest. Pray that God’s Word will be a powerful force in his room as it is spoken each night. Please pray for me as well. Not only is it difficult for me to watch him go through this each night, it is physically wearing me out. I live in a state of exhaustion and I know Satan uses my weakness to bring doubt and discouragement to my spirit. But God is there to sustain me each day and His strength is made perfect in my weakness. I would greatly covet your prayers as well. Pray that Jonathan will continue to improve in his balance and strength in his legs. Pray that God will orchestrate the details of his therapeutic riding and provide the direction we need for his continuing therapy. Please pray for Mrs. Lori as she works with Jonathan each week. Please pray for Jonathan’s health and the health of the rest of our family. God has been good and we have been very healthy this year. Pray that his cold will not be bad and will go away quickly. Pray that Jonathan will continue to do well in basketball, with his drum lessons and in school. Pray that God would continue to reveal Himself to us, to speak to us and to show us His will for our lives as we seek to serve Him. I would also ask you to continue to pray for our sweet friend Mary. I do not know what she is going through, but I know she is going through a very difficult grieving process. Please pray that God will sustain her with His love and comfort through this difficult time.
As I say good night on this special Valentine’s Day, I can’t leave without telling you how much we love each and every one of you who faithfully love, care and pray for us. Without you, we would not be where we are today. May God graciously bless your lives with His most incredible blessings. 2 Corinthians 13:11, 14 Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL FRIENDS!
WITH LOVE FROM THE COOPER FAMILY
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