Healing or endurance?

Since my last post Della had surgery on her leg & ankle (she had a club foot due to a polio infection as an infant). She was an excellent patient...the only time she cried was when dad went home to be with our other children.

After surgery she ate crackers and ice cream in bed.

That afternoon, evening and the whole next morning she played with a baby the whole time...changing it's diaper.

After six weeks of no weight-bearing, she now has a smaller, shorter, walking cast and is sooo happy to be able to put weight on her leg.  She is healing nicely and everything will come off at the end of January.  She already has improved in her standing and walking!  We thought her left leg from the knee down was totally immobile.  About 1 month ago I noticed she was moving her big toe!!  We've prayed that one day Della will be able to run like our other children, but we've also accepted maybe that's not God's plan for her life.  She's perfect just the way she is for her unique mission.  But we do thank Him for this one small miracle of movement!

Our oldest daughter, Emma, has had asthma attacks only at school since October (read more here).  After visiting a pulmonary specialist at Johns Hopkins, and increasing her medications, we thought we had a breakthrough in December.  She had only 2 asthma attacks within 3 weeks.  Once she returned to school this past week from the Christmas break she has had an asthma attack every morning and her symptoms are so bad so she has to come home. 

We pray for healing, but God's plan isn't always for physical healing, it may be for growing endurance......"when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." *

*The Bible - James 1:2-4