Raindrops are falling on my head

What does it mean to have faith like a child? Driving Danny to the Pat Thomas Police Academy today, I was reminded of that question as Dominic sat in the back seat happily babbling nonsense to himself, clearly unaware of the conversation going on in the front half of the car. Dominic has no idea what is going on but he is cheerful, completely secure in the fact that tonight he will fall asleep in his "casa" with a full belly, a kiss from mami, a bedtime story (or 5), and bija (his blanket). He has faith that everything else will work itself out.

Danny's orthopedic evaluation went as well as anyone could expect, anyone who wasn't praying for a miraculous healing, anyway. The day that Danny was injured, I had read some essays by C.S. Lewis on the efficacy of prayer. It has been very helpful to have those thoughts in mind as we've waited through this past week. I prayed for divine healing and asked others to do the same, believing fully that God is capable. His appointment this morning revealed that his elbow was healing on mortal schedule and that he had ligamental tears all the way around his elbow as well. He will need extensive therapy for the next couple months, several times a week. Furthermore, he is restricted to sedentary activities- no firearms training, no hand to hand combat, no running, no snorkling, no piñatas...no more academy. (I'm trying to smile here). So many people were praying for Danny. It was not for not-asking that Danny wasn't healed supernaturally. God's answer was simply "no" ...which happens... and God is to be praised for these "no"s too because it means that God has something else in mind which is for our good and His glory. I know these are all the right answers, but my faith waxes and wanes with the levels of chocolate in my bloodstream and with Dominic's behavior. Perhaps one of the hardest things Danny will have to deal with is not being able to graduate with his class. He has made many friendships there and has really enjoyed working with his classmates. We still don't know what this means as far as Danny's employment is concerned. I just wait silently, like a defendent in a courtroom waiting on a verdict.

When Ray married us, he warned us that just as a hurricane had threatened our wedding, there would be other storms in life that we would have to weather together. I'm reminded of that now. Our wedding plans completely fell apart but it only served to highlight the important things- the ceremony that was taking place and the love and goodness of our family and friends who came together to celebrate our marriage regardless of what church we were married in or the afterparty. Plus we got all that wedding money back and were able to use it to buy things that we needed. A hurricane hit the weekend that we moved to Tallahassee. And now Hurricane Fay came to herald Danny's police academy withdrawal. Maybe the hurricane is God's way of telling us he's doing something great. Really, though, I think I'd prefer something more subtle... like a rainbow.


Richview & Park Ave
(two blocks from our house)

Lake Ella...to infinity and beyond!