Three Months Of Grace

It’s now been three months since the accident.

We’re still blown away and amazed at God’s grace through all of this.

Not only are we daily thankful for God having spared Angie’s life in the accident, we’re continually reminded that it is He that is sustaining her and each of us with each day. There’s no reason we should have the strength to get through this pain apart from Him. There’s no reason we should find joy in the midst of this hardship apart from Him. We can’t help but point to God for the endurance and hope we’ve been given to face each new day.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

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Moving to Hope

Back in mid-October, Angie passed all the metrics she needed to reach in order to be released from care at Sparrow Hospital. From there we moved over to Hope Network Neuro Rehab Center here in Lansing where we’ve been for the last month. Moving to Hope has been refreshing as it feels more “homey” than Sparrow, but it’s still a reminder that Angie isn’t truly home yet.

Here at Hope, Angie has been keeping busy with her speech, occupational, and physical therapies. Each day she spends a couple hours in therapy, intermixed with the much needed rest that her body continues to need to repair itself. Angie has been focusing on improving her cognitive skills in recent therapies, especially on her information processing skills and attention. Her enduring strength continues to shine through as she’s been taking more supported steps and regaining balance.

One of the most enjoyable things for Angie has been re-introducing solid foods into her diet. We’re so happy to have congealed liquids behind us (if anyone has experienced a diet of congealed water and pureed foods, they’ll know how tiring that can be) and even more so happy at the evidence of Angie’s throat continuing to heal and regain swallowing control.

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Nola

A week before the accident we got a dog, which is absurd timing looking back, but living with Nola has been such a blessing. Nola is living with us in our apartment at Hope and has been such an encouragement to us and the other patients. The other day Angie said “isn’t it amazing that we got Nola a week before my accident?!” What could have been another stressor in this season has lead to greater joy and comfort.

Nola also was the star of our Halloween group costume. Even though we couldn’t throw our annual Halloween party this year, we were still able to partake in some festivities and bring the spooky season into our little apartment.

The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
‭‭Nahum‬ ‭1:7

While some people have commended our stamina to withstand these circumstances, we truly do step back and point to God and give Him all the glory.

We thank God:

• for all the lessons He’s teaching us through this season
• for the character built in Angie over her life to get through this struggle
• for how He’s teaching us through Angie’s example
• for the strength He has exerted through Ryne
• that He is a near God, walking with us through trials
• for preserving Angie’s life, and blessing us with her presence
• that our identity isn’t in the things we can do or how we communicate, but in Jesus
• for all the truths of Scripture

Joy and heartache

Walking in joy and heartache has been a new normal in this season and a recent pang of reality was Ang saying “I feel like I should be able to do this.” It’s these moments that remind us of the very real pain of this situation, but also bring joy at remembering just how far Angie has progressed.

It is by holding onto that perspective and clinging to God’s strength that we continue to walk forward in hope, resting in His grace.

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Please continue to pray for:

• mental strength in Angie
• spiritual closeness to God
• strength for Ryne to be the husband he’s called to be
• God’s continued comfort
• reminders of the truth of Scripture
• God to meet all of us in whatever brokenness we’re walking through
• God to do immeasurably more than we could imagine
• a miraculous and total recovery