Still Healing, Still Learning, Still Here

Lately, God has been doing some quieter things in our family. They may not look big from the outside, but they have meant more to us than I can say.

We have been living through the everyday work of healing. There have been appointments, learning, praying, resting when we need to rest, celebrating small victories, and taking the next faithful step in front of us. Some days still hold questions, and some things are still unfolding, but God has not been quiet in our lives.

A Little Family Update

We are especially thankful for the improvement we have seen in Neziah. This summer, we have been able to watch our boy enjoy childhood again in sweet, ordinary ways. He has been enjoying time at the playground, playing outside in the sunshine, singing and dancing, and enjoying the creek. He has also been playing with his brothers and sisters and going along with us to do normal things like errands again.

After a season of carrying so much watchfulness and always wondering when the next seizure might come, those moments are not small to us. We are still attentive to his care, still praying, and still taking one day at a time. But God has given us room to breathe and joy in watching him enjoy the simple things a little boy should get to enjoy. We praise Him for the healing we have seen, for answered prayers, and for ordinary days that once felt so far away.

Last summer looked very different for our family. We spent much of it in and out of the hospital, carrying questions we could not yet answer. Looking back at where we were then makes these ordinary summer days God has given us now feel even more precious.

I shared more about that season, and the prayers that carried us through it,
in Carried by Your Prayers and His Strength.

The Gift of Ordinary Days

Summer view of a creek flowing through an Ozark holler during a season of family healing.

God has been giving our whole family pieces of ordinary life again. More time together has meant playing in the backyard, enjoying the creek, and being outside in the sunshine. We are simply receiving the gift of being together.

Little by little, we are learning to enjoy living again. There is room for more than pain, doctor appointments, and all the calls and messages that come with medical care. There is room for more than the next hard thing.

These ordinary moments have reminded us that family love grows in simple places: shared meals, laughter, time outside, prayer, and showing up for one another on hard days. There is something precious about being able to receive those moments again without rushing past them. We are thankful for every reminder that joy can return, even while healing is still unfolding.

That does not mean every question is gone or every concern is finished. It means the Lord has been faithful in the middle, and He has given us joy to receive.

The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. ~ Psalm 126:3

We are grateful for every person who has prayed for us, checked on us, or carried our family before the Lord. Please keep praying for Neziah and for all of us as we continue walking forward in healing. You are also welcome to share a prayer request or praise through our Prayers + Praises Wall.

Healing, One Day at a Time

I am continuing to see pieces of healing in my own life that I did not even know were possible. After years of searching for answers and trying to hold life together through traumatic brain injury, I am still learning that healing is not always one big moment.

Sometimes healing looks like sleeping better, handling a little more noise or activity than before, or having patience when my brain would once have felt completely overwhelmed. Sometimes it looks like sitting at the table with my family, enjoying an ordinary meal, and realizing I am more present than I used to be.

Slow progress is still progress.

There are things we are still praying about, and there are still days when healing is hard. But there are also moments that remind me the Lord has been carrying us all along.

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. ~ Psalm 118:17

For the One Who Is Still in the Middle

If you are in the middle of a hard season, I hope you know that you are not alone. There is room to be tired, to have questions, and to take healing one day at a time.

Sunlight filtering through trees with a rainbow of light in the summer sky.

God sees what others do not see. He knows the weight of appointments and the lists you have to write when your brain cannot hold everything. On the nights you lie awake wondering whether things will ever feel easier, He is near. When you need to rest while everyone else is moving, He is near then, too.

The grief you cannot explain is not hidden from Him. Neither is the faith it takes to keep going.

A Prayer for the One Who Is Still Healing

Father, please meet the one reading this who is tired. Strengthen the person whose healing is taking longer than they expected. Comfort the one who is carrying pain that no one else can see. Be near to the husband, wife, parent, child, friend, or caregiver who is trying to stay strong for someone they love.

Give wisdom for the next appointment, the next decision, and the next faithful step. Bring peace where there has been fear, rest where there has been exhaustion, and hope where there has been disappointment. Help us remember that You are still working, even when the work is slow and quiet.

Thank You for being the God who does not leave us in the middle. In the name of Jesus, amen.

That Is the Soil Where Still Breathing Grew

My song Still Breathing did not come from a season when everything was easy or finished. It came from the years when I had to learn that simply continuing to breathe could be an act of faith.

Still Breathing grew from the mercy of God in the years after traumatic brain injury. It was shaped by healing alongside my husband, mothering our children in the middle of it, the love our family kept giving me, and the kindness of people who came alongside us when we needed help.

We have learned that receiving help is not weakness. Sometimes the Lord cares for us through His people, and allowing someone to bring a meal, pray, sit with a child, run an errand, or simply listen gives them the blessing of carrying part of the burden with us.

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. ~ Galatians 6:2

I wrote this song because I believe there are other people who need to know this, too: if you are still breathing, God is still working.

Still Breathing releases July 14.

Save Still Breathing for Release Day →

Blessings,
Heidi