In Crisis…Who do you call?

Being the parent of any child can present it’s own set of challenges.  Being the parent of a special needs child can sometimes be a little overwhelming.  And whatever your situation may be, when crisis strikes, who do you call?  Who are the people in your life that you feel the most comfort from when you need to hear a voice of reassurance?

On Wednesday of last week, our son who has struggled with a drooling problem since birth, because of a Chromosome Deletion Disorder, had a little surgical procedure where they went in and injected the salivary glands with Botox.  This procedure will eventually block the gland to keep it from producing the excess saliva that pools in the front of our son’s mouth and spills out over the lips.  We were very excited about such a simple procedure and couldn’t wait for it to happen.

This past Friday night we started seeing some complications, but didn’t realize the severety until Saturday evening, when he could no longer swallow any food without gagging and throwing up.  Even simple liquids and eating pop sickles were becoming difficult for him to swallow.

We called the hospital like we were supposed to and the neurologist had us go to the ER.  Long story short, we’re now at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and will be here until he can be transferred to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children on Tuesday, where he’ll get a swallow study that will help them identify what is going on.

Right now he’s resting comfortably in bed after a nice dose of Benadryl to help him sleep.  He was getting very crabby with so little sleep last night and nothing to eat for the past 24 hours.  He’s hooked to an IV for fluids and will be receiving an NG tube (Nasogastric intubation) for food, as soon as the arm restraints arrive.  Arm restraints!  Sucks!  But the reality is he’ll yank the tube right out of his nose.  He’s already tried the IV inserted into his hand.

When crises like this hit you and your family, who do you call?  Everyone should have someone they can call, but sadly enough, many people are alone and don’t have anyone they can call.  They have to endure this alone.  My wife and I are in a bit of transition right now from our traditional church to more of an organic church model, so I don’t really feel connected enough to call my pastor.  I do feel connected enough to call our friends from our small group, our friends who are here to help start the organic church, and strangely enough, to contact people I’ve met via social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Triiibes.  Why would I feel more comfortable contacting them over my local pastor?

I don’t have the answer.  It’s just what it is.  Some how the power of the internet is making the world a little smaller and the church a whole lot bigger.  It feels somewhat empowering to use Twitter to send out a little message for people to pray for our son and to know that in a matter of minutes thousands of people could be praying for him.  I’m sure some would say the personal touch is not there with the social networks, but that’s why we also have close local friends that we can call and also ask to pray.  Having both as an option is a bonus and if I can get people across the county and possibly around the world praying for a little 9 year old boy lying in a hospital bed in Dallas, then I’ll take that option.

What about you?  Do you have people you can call in a crisis?  Do you use social networks like Twitter to help you get the word out when you have a need?  Would love to hear your thoughts!

When Life is Faster Than Normal

The past two weeks have been crazy.  I’m not really used to traveling much with my company, but we have a big project being fabricated that we’ve spent the past nine months designing.  Extra hands are needed right now as we inspect the work and do our best to meet an unreasonable schedule.

I flew out of town a couple of weeks ago and was gone for eight days.  Then flew home for less than 48 hours to see my family and take care of a few things around the house and at the office.  Flew back out on a Friday night and spent the next four days working.  Crazy!  By Tuesday none of us really even knew what day it was.  I flew back in on Tuesday night, got to bed really late and then was up very early to take our son to the hospital for a little surgical procedure that will hopefully stop his drooling.

I was back to the office the following day, then took today off to get some things done for our non-profit Retread.  Instead I ended up taking my “Junky Car” to the mechanic and ended up spending $825 to keep it on the road.  On top of all of this, my brother and his family are here for the Labor day weekend and my parents along with my Granny arrived today.  We have a full house!

So, what is a person supposed to do when life gets faster than normal?  First of all, I think you have to realize you can’t do it all.  When I’m in Louisiana I’m there for a purpose and I have to focus and do the best job I can.  It’s important for my company and I want to represent them well.  The first thing I’ve had to do is let this blog go.  I hate to do it, because it’s my outlet, my release, and my place to pour out all the thoughts in my head.  When I’m unable to do that, everything gets bottled up and I eventually get to a place where I can’t think at all. 

Secondly I think you have to take one day at a time.  Don’t get stressed over the little things.  Don’t let the $825 unexpected bills overwhelm you and don’t get stressed with having so many people in the house.  They aren’t here to stay, just visiting.

And finally I think you have to be very purposeful about the time you spend reconnecting with your spouse, children, and friends.  It’s important to maintain a level of contact that lets all of them know you still care about them, you’ve just been a little preoccupied with other things.  Things that will pass and life will return to normal.

Proper perspective is a very powerful gift and I’ve had to learn it the hard way.  I’m pleased that the 4 1/2 months of counseling are paying off at a time that could be a little too much.  I’m thankful that God is walking this tight rope with me, and I’m glad I have felt his presence.

Life at 150 MPH

For those of you who already know about the Retread blog, you know it’s my journal about reshaping life.  Mostly it has been about how my life is being reshaped as I journey through life doing my best to help those who are less fortunate.  Today as I read in the book “I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” I read something that, once again, I feel God is trying to make me aware of and needs to be reshaped in my own life.  Allow me to share these thoughts with you tonight.

Jesus said, “Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.  I’ll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me–watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”  Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

The author, Vince Antonucci, talks in this chapter about how many of us are living life at 150 MPH instead of living life at the speed of love.  God lives life at the speed of Love.  Jesus lived life at the speed of love.  I want to live life at the speed of love, but I have to confess that most of the time I’m living life at 150 MPH. 

So what is the answer?  Sabbath.  God has already designed a plan to help us slow down.  He wants us to take one day out of our busy week and rest.  And through this discipline we will learn to slow down in the other busy areas of our lives.

Vince shares at the end of this chapter a word used by the Hopi Indians.  Koyaanisqatsi, which means “life out of balance,” or “crazy life,” or “life in turmoil.”  He goes on to say, “The Hopi Indians used it to describe someone whose life is in such a disintegrating state that it calls for that person to find another way of living.”

Five months ago I was Koyaanisqatsi and I had to find another way of living.  I can honestly say that things are much better now, but I’ve still got a ways to go.  I still need to truly embrace and live my life experiencing a day of sabbath.  When I finally do I’m convinced I’ll be able to live life at the speed of love.

How about you…is your life out of balance?  Are you living a crazy life, a life in turmoil?  Are you living life at 150 MPH or are you living at the speed of love?

I Became a Christian and all I got…

Was this lousy t-shirt.

When I started reading the book “I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” by Vince Antonucci, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I packed it along last week as I went out of town on business and started reading it on the flight to New Orleans.  What I found was, I didn’t want to put the book down.  It’s a quick read and very funny.  Antonucci does a great job of making you feel relaxed as you read a book about living a life more involved with Jesus and God.

Tonight I’d like to share a little passage from the book and hopefully a few readers will decide to leave some comments.  The title of this chapter is Glow and begins with the story of Moses seeing God and glowing afterwards.  It’s pretty funny, but this part was one that stuck with me for a while.

Antonucci says, “What we all want is to glow.  We go into this Christian thing, we read about it in the Bible, and we believe it’s going to have a real impact on our lives.  We should be able to feel it.  It should change us.  Other people should be able to see it’s effect.  We want to glow.”

“But many of us, most of the time, are not glowing.  And when we aren’t glowing, like Moses, we cover our disappointment with a veil.  We don’t put on a literal veil; we use a veil of smiles and denials.  Christians are famous (or infamous) for this.  We wear fake, plastered smiles as a twisted badge of honor, pretending that everything’s great all the time.  We say things like, ‘It’s another great day to praise the lord!’ ‘This is the day the Lord has made!’ ‘What?’ No, nothings wrong!’ ‘God is good all the time!’ We hide our true disappointment.”

Can you relate to anything that the author is saying here?  Are you guilty of feeling or responding in this way?  Why do you think Christians or “the Church” are like this?  Do you think this is one of the reasons why so many people stay away from church?

I’d love to know your thoughts!!!