Hello All! My guys (Christian & Mark) are down for a nap, and before I do the same, I thought I'd give you an update from the Wexelberg home front.

As I awakened this morning, I Peter 1: 6-9 quickly leapt off the pages of my Bible and into my heart. I have always loved this Scripture, but this morning it came alive in a special way. Here it is...

"In this you GREATLY rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

On Tuesday afternoon, Mark came home from the hospital! Hooray! What a relief for him and for us to have him home (my Mom's house, that is). There's no place like home, really. For most people, it is a place of refuge, comfort & familiarity. He slept better the last two nights than he has the whole month in the hospital (no surprise there with all the pokes and prods and noises). We got all his RX's filled and his equipment delivered on Tuesday morning and afternoon, which was a major endeavor in and of itself! The guys from the healthcare equipment company (who shall remain nameless!) spent over THREE hours (yes, I said three hours) trying to get the lift to work - the one that puts Mark in the big sling and lifts him from destination to destination, until he has more than one working limb. I was the guinea pig, and was hanging in the sling myself as they experimented with how in the world it was supposed to work. (aren't they supposed to know?) It was laughable for about the first hour and a half. Then, this wife (that would be me), who knew her husband was in the van on the way home, was not GREATLY REJOICING - as I Peter 1 mentions I should. :) But at long last, after they called in reinforcements from headquarters, the three of them got it figured out, and I & Mark survived the incident unscathed. :) At that moment a "Hallelujah" rang out from West Loveland! (& my Mom continues to sing the old Easter hymn, "Up from the Grave He Arose!" every time Mark goes up in the lift. She is a living soundtrack. :)

Yesterday, Mark's assigned nurse came to visit. His name is Bob. Nurse Bob said, when he read the notes on Mark's case prior to coming, he told his supervisor, "I don't think I want to have this patient - his injuries are too much work!" (he was kidding, kind of) Mark had a list of 20 injuries, and Bob said they rarely ever see anyone with this many injuries. For most patients, it's a broken hip or at most a few broken bones or incisions from a surgery. Nevertheless, Bob bravely came and after assessing Mark and talking with us, he said, "Mark, you are WAY better in person than you look on paper!" And by the end of the visit, he determined that Mark does not even need a nurse to come in on a regular basis. He was so pleased with Mark's overall condition and care! Praise GOD!

When Bob said that Mark is "way better in person than on paper" and that they rarely ever see all these injuries in one person, I thought of two things immediately. First, I thought of the miracle that God performed on Mark's behalf by sparing and protecting Mark in this accident. (I think the reason they rarely see all these injuries in one person is probably because, generally speaking, the person would not have normally survived). So, we "greatly rejoiced" that Mark is a living testimony to the grace of God and that he lived and will live to tell of the salvation of God!

The second thing I thought when Nurse Bob said that Mark looked "way better in person than on paper" was a bit of a stretch when it comes to parallels. But my mind went there nevertheless, when he said it. The Scripture I mentioned earlier says, "though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and even though you do not see Him now, you are filled with an inexpressible joy..." I can not help but venture to say that our God is incredibly amazing "on paper" (the Word of God experienced and expressed in & through our earthly lives). He is living and moving, precious & powerful, & intimately involved in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. But can you imagine with me the joy and amazement we will experience when, at long last, we behold Him face to face - not "unseen" but "seen"? No longer will we see through a glass dimly. No longer we will have the limp of life to contend with. No longer will we sift through the hazy fog of our circumstances and trials. But we shall behold Him IN PERSON and I know we will be floored!

I don't draw this parallel to diminish in any way the wonder of God's Word or His complete power in our lives today in the here and now. But I draw the parallel because it is WE who are limited and WE who are "injured" and WE who see dimly now. The fact that we see this way does not make God any less amazing, it just means that we can not fully absorb how amazing He is until we bow before Him one day - our interpretations of Him finally cast aside - worshipping at His feet. WAY BETTER IN PERSON!!!! We will be HOME!

Well, until then, today is another day here on this earth and I want to GREATLY rejoice. Lord, help me! Help us! Not a wimpy rejoicing. Not a "when I feel like it" rejoicing. But a rejoicing that comes from deep within because each of us who follow Jesus Christ are "receiving the goal of our faith - the salvation of our souls!" with every trial we face. I want to be proved "genuine." Praise His wonderful name! So, as we begin the in-home rehab & occupational therapy and we both want to scream in moments of frustration or exhaustion (I had one of those moments last night already!), if we can press into Christ as we face these trials, (& as you face your own), we are receiving great treasure that will last. Hooray!

Oh, and on a completely silly note, I also wanted to share with you the bedding that awaited Mark on his twin hospital bed when he arrived home. (photo included) "Today is the BEST DAY EVER!" And it is.

WIth love and ramblings & great thanks to God and to you for your prayers!
Shannon