So Thankful

Last Friday, the dad of one of my students (we'll call her Elly) in the 4s class came in to quickly tell me that his daughter was in the middle of brain surgery. They discovered a tumor on her brain on Thursday, and they needed to operate immediately. He tells me this at 8:25, and I'm starting class with the other students in 5 minutes.

I was quite shaken with the news, and I wanted to cancel class. But the show must go on. He left, and I promised that we would all be praying.

This sweet, sweet little girl's face was in my thoughts all weekend long. There was an added heaviness to my days, and I was so troubled for this family. On Sunday I called the mom to see if I could get an update on how Elly was doing. There wasn't really an update, and once again I promised that we would all be praying.

As I tried to think about the options for Elly and her family, I was constantly resisting the fear that once again I would witness the suffering of a little one and inevitably face loss. When I tried to picture Elly sick and fighting for her life, tears would spring to my eyes, and I would quickly erase the mental image. I was confident that I couldn't possibly handle this sort of heartache again, and I didn't know where to begin to pray.

Because last year, I prayed, confident that God was going to heal Samuel. And He didn't. This affected my relationship with the Lord more than I could possibly explain. Those were some of the most painfully alone days I've had. It's one thing to distance myself from people, but to distance myself from my Savior- it was a horrible season of life.

I dreaded the road I was potentially going to walk down again. See, Elly and I became friends quickly. She's got a real dry sense of humor and has a bright sarcastic future ahead of her. She's awesome. As with most teachers, I'm sure, you attach quickly to your students.

I've been praying for Elly. My classes have been praying for her. My family has been praying for her. The staff at school has been praying for her. And I finally heard that she's going to be okay. The growth on her brain wasn't even a tumor. But it was doing damage to her brain. They removed the entire thing, and she's now in physical therapy. She hasn't left the hospital yet, but one day, she'll return to my class.

When I heard the news, I nearly fell apart once again. Even I didn't realize what I was carrying in the past 7 days. I knew that I feared the worst, but I didn't realize just how much this was weighing on me. I'm so thankful that Elly will be okay, and her sarcastic self will lighten up my classroom again soon-ish.

I'm thankful that I know God is good when I get these good reports and when I get the bad ones. I'm thankful that I learned what I did in the past year. I'm thankful that I know God is going to use whatever it takes to make His name famous. And if that means bringing tragedy to people's lives, then may His name be magnified in the midst of it! If that means bringing healing to Elly's brain, then may all of our praises to Him ring from the mountaintops! I'm able to say with confidence, "Do whatever you must in me and through me and around me to accomplish Your will!"

For today, I'm rejoicing that God in His grace and mercy has spared Elly and her family a very difficult road. I can't wait to get Elly back in class.