The Already, the Not Yet, and How to Set Your Compass Accordingly

If I had to describe the past 52 days, I might use a word like hurricane.

If I had to describe the past three days, I would probably liken it to holding your breath for as long as you possibly can, and then coming up for air at the last moment possible.

Air is filling our lungs and we are breathing again — glorious good air, air full of hope and joy fills our lungs — but we are also probably exhausted.

There’s a hard thing I’ve observed about life. And it’s that I do the most learning when things are hard. I do the most growing when I’m being stretched. It’s as if maybe the strongest trees are the ones that get started in adverse conditions and have to push through hard dirt, or drought. And maybe they also learn to intertwine their roots with the trees around them, because they know somehow they’ll be stronger if they stand together and grow together.

Our precious eight-year-old son is home after 48 days in the hospital. We’ve been eating meals as a family. We’ve been cuddling on the couch and reading books again. We’re in the early stages of figuring out a temporary new normal as we watch our boy progress day-by-day and it is nothing short of glorious to behold. To think just a few short weeks ago we really weren’t sure who would wake up — and what he would remember, what he would be capable of, how his future might be severely limited — and instead to find it seems there are no limitations. No boundaries. No ‘no’s’ or ‘impossibles’ even being whispered. 

Instead we are experiencing what we fought tooth and nail to believe all along: With God, nothing is impossible.

Jesus looked at them and said,
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
{Matt. 19:26}

We don’t know exactly where our story is going. We don’t know how God is going to author the chapters yet to come. We have already seen the beauty of knowing that so many people have been encouraged out of this journey, and that is a gift we are incredibly grateful for.

Today we watched the video of a precious seven-year-old that wanted to send $11 to help with Blake’s medical bills. I am confident in the kingdom of heaven, that is the very biggest gift we have ever received.

We are fully confident our precious Blake is moving toward 100%, and he will get there. We are fully confident God will provide with exceeding abundance for our family and those medical bills. We will get there.

And all of life, all of our existence as fragile, amazing human beings on planet Earth? Is exactly this — we live in the already, and we live in the not yet.

Christ has already died for us. We are already forgiven. We are already blessed, redeemed, chosen. But we are not yet who we will become when we are fully, face-to-face with our Creator, the heavenly creatures He intended when He first dreamed of you or me at the beginning of eternity.

Already, Blake is so very healed. But in some small ways, not yet. And in truth — even our beautiful eight-year-old is going to live his own precious life and grow old and his days will come to an end. He is not yet the glorified creature he was created to be.

The best is yet to come!

How do we settle into this already and not yet way of living? It reminds me of being at the beach and letting your feet sink into the sand as the water washes over you again and again. You stand for a while. You soak in the sun, the cool of the water, the splash of children nearby, the good salty air that fills your lungs. You let gratitude be what you feel and breathe more than anything else. 

And then, you wriggle those feet out of the sand, and you keep going. You keep going because not yet. You keep going because you are still here for a reason and there is still so much for you to live. There are even more storms for you to weather. You will learn more. You will grow more. It will be hard and it will be beautiful.

And you’ll return to sink your feet into the sand again. You’ll stop and smell those roses and give thanks. And then you’ll start walking again. 

Set your compass in the direction of faithfulness and you will not get off course. Can you really live a faithful life? Can you really do it all for the glory of God?

Well, with man, this is impossible. But? With God, all things are possible.

xCC

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I hope you’re encouraged today, friend. If you’re visiting this site for the first time, I’d love to welcome you to subscribe here for a weekly dose of encouragement.

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Thank you for your prayers for our precious Blake! He is adjusting so well to life at home. Sleeping better. Making great progress. We are watching him do something new with his left hand every day! He is more and more steady on his feet every day. He is more lucid, more himself, more sure of himself all the time. We’d love to ask you to pray for his full healing, his vision, his headaches and tummy aches, the further treatments that may be necessary (that we pray will not be necessary!) and for the Lord’s hand on our family as we continue to navigate this journey together. We have so many hallelujahs to raise! God has been so good to us! We want to live this story with faithfulness.

You can get regular updates on Blake at With Love, From Here on Facebook or on our GoFundMe page. And if you’re looking for an awesome new t-shirt, I think there’s about a week left on our t-shirt Fundraiser right here. Please keep lifting up our family, and please Raise a Hallelujah to the God who is so worthy — He has done such great things for us!!