One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture is found in Psalm 84. There is something about it that makes my heart beat faster and my spirit resound with a hearty "Yes!" & "Amen!" I was reading a chunk of it this morning and my eyes landed on verses 5-7..."Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion."

As pilgrims headed toward the heart of God and the new Jerusalem, what a perilous, winding, sorrowful path we often tread in the natural. Certainly, if we focused on what our human eyes alone can see - the frailty of it all - we would collapse in our Valley of Baca, lose sight of our destination & die in our misery. But there is something miraculous about coming to our "end." The end of our rope - so to speak. The end of our strength. The end of our human wisdom. The end of our own bright ideas & solutions. Our end becomes His beginning. God steps in. And when He does, our resources become immense, immeasurable and invigorating! The dry place becomes alive and verdant and, suddenly, that which we thought would drain us of all life and any reason to go on, becomes a pool of refreshing springing up around our feet. He nourishes us, He cares for us, He waters us...and we grow. From strength to strength. It is in the "setting of our hearts" that we gain this treasure. The Valley of Baca will remain just that - a place of weeping and no more - if the eyes of our hearts don't peer through our tears into the horizon of our eventual destination. Ah, yes...strength comes in the setting of our hearts in the midst of these tears. I am learning.

This has been my prayer during Mark's recovery and I've been seeing it come to pass before my very eyes - not only in the spirit, but also in the natural. The last time I wrote, Mark had just begun weight bearing with his walker and doing his pool therapy. A slow process, but a sure one. The title of the book by Eugene Peterson "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" rings true. Every day and every step, Mark is getting stronger, but it is a long "obedience," of sorts, getting up each day and learning to walk again, not able to see much beyond this "valley," but knowing that what awaits us is well worth the obedience.

On a practical note, we went to visit Mark's surgeon, Dr. Rusnak, last Tuesday and he continues to rave about the speed of Mark's recovery! It's been 4 1/2 months now, since his accident, but Dr. R. said he's about 3 months ahead of where he might have expected Mark to be. Thank You, Lord! As I sat in the hallway, waiting for Mark to finish his fresh set of x-rays, I giggled to myself at the photographs of motorcyclists and rodeo stars lining the halls of the waiting area - all autographed by the "star" with "thank-you's" for putting them back together again. OK...so now we know what NOT to do if you don't want to land in THIS surgeon's office too many times. :) Thanks for the tip! Maybe we'll have to send an autographed picture of Mark, sitting in front of his laptop, with a hearty "thanks!" for putting the pieces back together again, even for this Business Analyst.

Anyway! Mark's visit to the Dr. was positive in many ways. Healing of the bones is progressing marvelously and Dr. R. will continue to watch those joint areas and the circulation to the tissue for probably the next year or so. So far, so good. There is one area of concern, and that is an area on the outside of the leg just above Mark's knee injury where the nerves and the muscles don't seem to be engaging. They just aren't contracting properly and the Dr. can't quite figure out any explanation for it, based on his injury and surgery sites. So, in September, we have to have a nerve study done on that portion of his leg. I would love if you would pray along with us for total restoration of that leg and for wisdom for the Dr's as they investigate and, possibly, treat this! Thank you!

Each week Mark is walking more and more, mostly with his walker, but even more and more without it! The first week he started trying to walk without it, we laughed because he pretty much waddled like a penguin. So, leave it to Mark, to flap his arms together and make penguin sounds as well! Might as well make the most of the moment! He still has to measure his strength each day and not overdo it, lest he end up really sore and exhausted the next day. But each week he is going from "strength to strength"- there's no doubt about it. Last weekend, we went with friends from Woodmen Valley Chapel down to Territorial Correctional Facility in Canon City and visited the guys down there. I've been there quite a few times before, but this was Mark's first time. The guys had been praying hard for Mark and it was awesome for them to see the "fruit of their labor" as Mark shared his testimony with them about his healing. Then, this weekend, believe it or not, Mark even traveled home to Michigan, via airplane, to go to a reunion of friends and to visit his family. It wasn't good timing for all three of us to go, so he jet-setted across America with his wheelchair and walker! We will pick him up on Tuesday morning!

So, ladies and gentlemen - as we Christ-followers all are - the Wexelberg's are on a pilgrimage. This is just one "leg" of our journey, and we're bound and determined to keep our hearts set on the ultimate destination, tapping into the riches of Him who has redeemed us and is calling us Homeward. And in this moment, I thank God for friends and family like you with whom we can share the journey, bearing one another's burden, when it becomes unbearable on our own. Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Mark's healing, for lifting me up as a wife & Mom, for believing with me for the songs that have been and are yet to be written for this project I am tackling in the Fall, & especially "thank you" for just "being" here. Fellow pilgrims. Dancing in the pools of His refreshing. Heading home.

From a Grateful Heart,
Shannon