A lesson for all ages

Silas enjoyed his first cone with his own ice cream scoop. A magical moment.

One of life's most difficult lessons occurs shortly after your first birthday, and it's rarely ever grasped even into adulthood. I witnessed Silas' struggle with it at a recent birthday party for one of his buddies. There were of course an abundance of new toys at the party. However, when Silas saw another boy grab a nearby tractor, the two of them began a tug of war contest that I somehow ended up refereeing. When Silas didn't get to win round one, I watched him struggle to fight back intense tears of frustration. No other toy would soothe his pain; no words of wisdom could melt his impatience. Yet in a matter of moments, the boy grew bored with the simple machinery, and it was left all alone for Silas to embrace.

Thus, we begin the teachable moment... before entering any toy-infested environment we pray: God, please help us to share and take turns. If we want something we can't have, help us to wait for it patiently, or find something else to play with instead. If we never get what we want, God please help us to be utterly satisfied with the other toys in our lives. Help us to trust that you will give us the strength to wait on the perfect toy you've designed just for us, and help us to be kind and loving, shining your light to others no matter what we have in our lives. Thank you God for so much goodness we've never deserved.

Okay... we don't really pray all of that every time we go somewhere, but teaching my son always seems to teach me. The "toys" look a bit different, but the same principles apply no matter our stage of life. I am trying to pray that same prayer every time I wait on little Levi news.

PRAISES-

• Levi's recent apnea seemed to be a "random cluster" of events. He hasn't had any since Saturday, and he's back on room air!
• Levi's handling the stomach feeds pretty well, besides a little spit up, they continue to increase his gastric feeds and decrease his intestinal feeds!
• Levi is 7 pounds 13 ounces!

 PRAY PLEASE-

• Levi's doctor thinks he may have spoken too soon about the blood work. After the weekend apnea, we are anxious for the blood work and still praying we don't have to do a sleep study (it often leaves you with more questions than answers I'm told). 
• The blood work we are waiting on at Emory for muscle tone disorders (that some of you have been faithfully praying for over a month now!) seems to be hung up somewhere. I've been told it's an expensive test, so they wait for enough orders to make it worthwhile. I've been told it's done, but the neurologist hasn't been available to "read" the results. And I've been told they are "investigating" what has taken so long. Needless to say, please pray we get it this week, and that he gets a clean bill of health with no additional testing needed!
•  Levi is still trying "tastings," but instead of every day, they've slowed to every other day because he hasn't given a lot of positive feedback on eating by mouth. :(
• Levi to stay on room air, and pray that he can stop spitting up and handle food in is stomach. 
• Levi's hand and feet- mobility, range of motion, no nerve damage. 

Thank you for your faithfulness! God bless!

~Lesson Buster