What a Difference a Year Makes

"What a Difference a Year Makes"

from Jenny


Tonight, as I watched my five-year old chase butterflies and fly balls at t-ball practice, I reminisced to another mom about the difference a year can make.

Last year, my four-year old was the littlest guy (by far) on the team during his very first baseball season ever!

Tonight... he's one of the biggest. He's an "old pro", this being his 3rd season of t-ball. And I'm even getting the hang of being the "dugout mom", making sure the boys get in and out swiftly with the right equipment (and making sure the toddling girl at my side doesn't sneak out to first base when I'm not looking!).

Tonight, my husband (the coach) instructed the other parents about the upcoming opening ceremonies, which will be held later this month. And I recalled that last year at this time, my dad actually attended the opening ceremonies... just days before he went into the hospital for his stem cell transplant.

A lot has happened medically over the course of this year. My dad has gone through the stem cell transplant, chemotherapy, surgery in Minnesota, and the beginning of dialysis.

So, it shouldn't come as a surprise, I guess, that the weekly updates on my dad's condition are that he is exhausted.

His body is weary. He moves from the couch to the bed. Or from the couch to the car. Not much else this week. Because of his most recent complication, he is beginning to experience dizziness again. His blood pressure is dropping again (as you may recall, he's volleyed back and forth between low blood pressure before surgery to high blood pressure post-op).

We received the results back from a few tests this week. These initial numbers gave my parents important information - we know that his kidneys are producing and eliminating waste again... but that they are not filtering out the toxins they need to. So, for now, my dad will continue with dialysis so that these toxins can be removed from his blood.

Next Tuesday, Dad has an ultrasound scheduled so that the doctors can see what is really going on. I know both my parents (and at least a few doctors) are anxious to get some answers . Staying true to form, my dad's case continues to mystify his medical team. And like he always quips, he doesn't really want to be "this special".

But he is "this special", and I was reminded of that as I prepared to write this week's post. For the first time in several months, I went back in his archives and pulled up the post my dad wrote almost exactly a year ago today. This is what was on his mind then:

I am reminded of what God told Jeremiah. (You may recall that Jeremiah is often referred to as “the weeping prophet” so he obviously needed comforting. One of the ways God comforted him was to let Jeremiah know that God knew who Jeremiah was and God cared for Jeremiah.)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

In my own personal amplified translation of that verse:

“Bob, before you were a baby in your mother’s womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I knew all about this journey you're going through with these “nasty little diseases.” I’m not surprised by them. I know you, and I’ve appointed you to accomplish certain things in your life. And nothing will stop you from keeping any appointment I’ve made for you.

Isn't that encouraging? I'm so grateful that nothing takes God by surprise. That even though a year can make a big difference to us, it doesn't change anything about who God is and what His plans are for our lives.

I'm grateful for that!

I'm also pretty grateful for a certain t-baller who invited his Grandma & Grandpa to this year's opening ceremonies, too! He may be slightly oblivious... but he sure knows how to cheer his grandparents' hearts!