Well, Sunday was an excellent day on one hand--as a part of our family ministry that we do at our church, my husband and I were thrilled to be a part of FEC Fall Family Fest 2011. On the other hand, the day brought a crisis that we were not anticipating at all. The day's events remind me now of the Bible verse, "We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."~Proverbs 16:9.
While I helped with preschool games and relays and my husband raced from generator to sound to stage, our 8-year old suffered a "substantial" upper arm break on an inflatable bouncy slide. Tate landed wrong at the bottom of the slide, and realizing that something was wrong, he leaped off of the slide and took off running. His little legs were flying as he raced across an open field, only to collapse in either shock or pain in the center of a circle of adults. Imagine my panic as I heard my oldest son, Tucker, screaming my name over the roar of the band, laughter, and fun.
Loading Tate in our van and racing to the ER, it is amazing how quickly things snapped into focus. By the time Tuesday rolled around, we found ourselves praying over Tate and kissing him goodbye as he rolled into the OR for surgery. Emerging a few hours later with the heaviest camouflage cast I had ever seen, I realized that this Thanksgiving would be a different one. Yes, we will still have turkey and dressing, still visit family and friends, still dress up in coordinating shades of brown and orange...but this year I will hug my kids a little tighter and give thanks for days of health and happiness. What I thought was going to the main thing--running a fall festival on Sunday afternoon--turned out to be only a blip on the radar screen. Just a reminder to all of you sweet parents out there to keep the main things the main things. Why did Tate break his arm? We might not ever know. But what did I learn from this experience? God is still God, and He holds it together. Giving thanks for my sweet children and especially my resilient Tate this November! Praying you and yours have a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving as well!
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