Count it all joy ...

We have been so encouraged by our family and friends loving and praying for us over the last week. A couple friends have reminded us that James 1:2-4 tells us that when we go through trials, it is our faith that is being tested. I rejoice that God puts challenges in our lives to draw us closer to Him. I want my faith to be tested!

God never promised that our bodies here would be perfect. In fact, Paul writes in Romans 8: "And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved." The redemption of our bodies is the hope in which we have been saved. Our bodies aren't whole now.

It is a true work of God that Evie's circulatory, respiratory, digestive, immune, nervous system (and all the others too ... I looked them up - did you remember from high school biology that there are 11 systems in our bodies? I didn't) are all functioning - so what if one joint isn't quite right!? And there is more wrong with her body than just this joint. She needs her body - hip dysplasia or not - to be redeemed by Jesus. So we hope for what we do not see - not just for her to be healed, although we do hope for that - but we hope for her to love and trust the God who made her. This is ultimately the most important thing. So we rejoice that it is not Ev's body that is being tested (because she most certainly would fail on many counts), but our faith.

I am fighting every day to remember and rest in these truths. I am not that nervous, nor am I scared. Mostly I am just sad. Sad that I won't be able to cuddle her in the same way, sad to not see her chunky thighs until late-July, sad that she'll be smelly and hot in the cast for the next couple months, and, more than anything, sad that she won't be able to play with her toes (her very very very favorite thing). But I am counting it joy. I am counting it joy that she finally is sleeping without being swaddled - one less thing for her to adjust to after Thursday. Counting it joy that she learned to clap this week - just in time to not be able to play with her toes. Counting it joy that we have friends and family who are standing with us, bathing us and Evie in prayer.

Evie's full name is Evelyn Grace, because we want to see her life (Evelyn's meaning) marked by the abundant grace of God. God has already shown us graciousness in hundreds of ways since we received the diagnosis and scheduled the surgery. So we fight to have faith, because we serve a God who is a heck of a lot bigger than a defective hip joint. Praise Him!