the beautiful mundane. . .

Looking back over the blog for the last few months, I can’t help but see the highlight reel – the highs and the lows. The worst days and the best ones.  I tend to write when I am feeling deep emotion or a deep sense of rest – and in that I miss capturing the beauty and struggle of our everyday life – the extraordinary ordinary, as one childhood friend calls it. . .

So, for the next 30 days, I am going to write something – maybe about the hospital – or Madeline and Annabelle’s latest escapade, or the amazing people that surround us, but something, nonetheless. And maybe, with that, you will get a better picture of our lives, of the wonder and stark beauty of this place that has become our home. Perhaps I will see it better as well :).

Tonight’s story comes from the comments section. When I logged onto write this blog, I went through the comments of the last few weeks. One brought joy and sadness, peace and strength – a paradox of emotions that defines our life here.

“thanks for all you did to save our baby D* even tho we lost him.we shall forever be greatful.God bless for yr gud work if saving lives.”

It was from the father of one of my precious patients in Kijabe. I had fought for their son’s life for many days in our ICU – crying with them, pacing the floor, doing our best to protect their precious boy as his immune system spun out of control. I ran codes and brought his heart beat back countless times. In the end, we lost our fight, and placed him the precious arms of His Savior.

The gratitude of and for that family, their deep, deep love for their son, their effort to find my blog, the memory of a battle fought, the knowledge that my time with them mattered, the holy privilege to walk that road with them. . . these moments, among others, are our extraordinary ordinary.