Be Strong and Courageous

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

On June 26th, Levi goes in for his 2nd major open heart surgery. His first surgery was done in China when he was 18 months old. We are teeter tottering between hopeful anticipation and a dread that leaves a knot in your stomach. We are so excited to see a pink, not blue, little boy running around. A little boy with breath to spare when running and playing with his friends. Free of coughs and weakness. We are told he should even start to grow more. Our little 3 ft, 25 pound, (almost) 4year old should sprout right up once his heart isn't working so hard all the time. No more oxygen levels in the 70's and 80's.

But the dread.....I can't even imagine the pain and discomfort of having your chest cracked open. I hate thinking about him having to suffer through this...again. The worry of possible outcomes like a stroke or the disruption of the cluster of nerve cells that controls your hearts rhythm. It's so easy to let your mind race and think of all the "What ifs." But God is greater! God does not call us to worry and fret about tomorrow. He is already there. He already has it all under His control.  He has paved the way and just asks us to follow. This time Levi is not alone. He has his family with him. He has his church family with him. He knows Jesus is with him. I keep remembering his last surgery; how God placed a lady from our church, who is a nurse, in the surgical room. The prayers I know she lifted up. I didn't even know this lady. Didn't know she attended our church until a week later. I have no doubt God has plans for another believer to be in this surgery lifting our son up to his heavenly Father.

This surgery should last 6-8 hours and the hospital stay will be 7-8 days if all goes well with no complications. Please join us in prayer as Levi goes through this major surgery. Below are some specific things to be praying for!!

1. For the doctors' skill and wisdom. For discernment to know exactly what needs to be done to repair Levi's heart.

2. That the doctors' wouldn't find any surprises once inside Levi's heart and that he will, in fact, be able to have a two ventricle heart.

3. For protection of the nerve cell cluster that controls the hearts rhythm. They are invisible and the surgeons just go by where they "should" be. However with a heart defect like Levi's, they are not always where they should be. If it's disturbed Levi would require a pacemaker. Also pray for protection from a stroke.

4. For recovery to be smooth with no complications. For lungs to remain clear and for no infections to develop. Levi does not have a spleen which places him at high risk for infection after surgery.

5. Peace for Levi during this scary time. He seems to remember his first open heart surgery and is not very happy about it, yet he knows there isn't much of a choice. He is one brave little guy.

6. Pray for his pain to be minimal and well controlled.

7. For peace and extra stamina for our family. While we trust God's healing hand we are still human and its hard to wrap your head around at times as a parent, so I can only imagine the thoughts going through our other kids minds. Pray for their peace and comfort.

Isaiah 40:31 "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."