Today is a very important day
Today holds a lot of special meaning for me...in the past few years God has added another reason for me to celebrate this day and I want to start this post by talking about that first...
Today is Nancy Kerr aka Momma Kerr's birthday...for those of you who don't know I refer to the Kerr's as my Kerr family because well they are...hahahaha...pretty much from the beginning of becoming friends with them I have felt as comfortbale around them as I do with my own family...which is kind of a big deal for me because I hardly ever feel comfortable around people especailly not that quick...but just like my own family tries to be with others the Kerrs have taken me in and accepted me completely "as is" even though I have a million crazy quirks and I probably drive them crazy with them just like I do my own family...I have become the daughter that Papa and Momma Kerr never had and I love that role and feel blessed that they would want me to be a part of their family in that way...Garrett (their oldest and one of my closest friends) makes fun of me for how much I talk him and his family up but to have people around that are such an great example of God's love is amazing...so today one of the many things I am thankful for is that God brought Nancy Kerr into this world...I could go on and on about her and the love that she has for people and about the way that she longs to take care of everyone making everyone feel like they matter...I am also endlessly thankful for the way that she has raised her sons to be men after God's heart...and for all the other lessons that she and Papa have taught them about what it really looks like to be Christ followers being loving humble seekers of the truth accepting and servents to those around them...Momma Kerr is a gift from God that I will always be thankful for...and I love that I get to share this specail day with her...
Now on to why this day was important to me before I met the Kerrs...
20 years ago when I was 21 months old I started to get sick with what looked like a normal flu...a few days later I was in the hospital as my whole body began to shut down threatening to take my life at a young age...from the simple flu my kidneys had failed causing my whole body to fill with toxins slowly creeping its way through my body silently trying to shut down every part of my body...yet obviously I survived because as it turns out God as always had a plan for all of this in my life...that began the journey that my family and I have been on for 20 years of truly learning to lean on God with each new day...of learning to praise God no matter what the circumstances in our lives are...of learning how fleeting this life really is and what is truly important not only here on Earth but in eternity as well...and of learning how to cope with not being in control at all as my body continues to be a mystery to us and the doctors because my jacked up body does not follow the same pattern of other people's bodies that are jacked up for the same reason...though it has been rough I would never give this life back...God can only give good gifts wither we see them that way or not...dealing my whole life with health problems would seem like a bad gift but through this God teaches me something new about His character and about myself with each new day...what could be better than that...even though it is difficult and frustrating I would choose this life and the relationship I have with Christ now over having a easy pain free life any day...God continues to teach me how faithful He is and how much He loves me everyday as He walks with me through every challenge new or old...
If that weren't enough of a reason to celebrate this bonus day this is also the day that I had a transplant 13 years ago...I could lie to you and say that 13 years ago I wasn't terrified but that would be just that a lie...I was scared out of my mind...I don't do well with uncertainty or with things I have never experianced before...I like to play it safe...so you can imagine how fearful I was with all the things that were and are unsure when it comes to such a serious surgery...8 hours later both dad (who gave me one of his kidneys) and I were out of surgery beginning the long recovery process...though there were complications afterwards because as I mentioned my body is jacked up and doesn't follow the norms (I think my body has a "don't tell me what to do" attitude problem just like I do) again God worked everything out for His glory and not our own or the doctors...
Now as my body begins to go crazy as always baffling the doctors putting another transplant at the front of our minds (which has always been a reality for me knowng that transplants are a treatment not a cure and at the time of my transplant a transplant lasted an average of 10-15 years) I can't help but want to celebrate this day as much as possible...in my mind who knows if next year we will be celebrating my transplant day on the same day...maybe by then I will have had another one...who knows but God...all I know for sure is that I will continue to celebrate today and everyday that He gives me praising Him for always giving me good gifts that draw me closer to Him and His love for me...and I will continue to pray for His will to be done in my life without my hidden agenda tucked behind those words...
Today is Nancy Kerr aka Momma Kerr's birthday...for those of you who don't know I refer to the Kerr's as my Kerr family because well they are...hahahaha...pretty much from the beginning of becoming friends with them I have felt as comfortbale around them as I do with my own family...which is kind of a big deal for me because I hardly ever feel comfortable around people especailly not that quick...but just like my own family tries to be with others the Kerrs have taken me in and accepted me completely "as is" even though I have a million crazy quirks and I probably drive them crazy with them just like I do my own family...I have become the daughter that Papa and Momma Kerr never had and I love that role and feel blessed that they would want me to be a part of their family in that way...Garrett (their oldest and one of my closest friends) makes fun of me for how much I talk him and his family up but to have people around that are such an great example of God's love is amazing...so today one of the many things I am thankful for is that God brought Nancy Kerr into this world...I could go on and on about her and the love that she has for people and about the way that she longs to take care of everyone making everyone feel like they matter...I am also endlessly thankful for the way that she has raised her sons to be men after God's heart...and for all the other lessons that she and Papa have taught them about what it really looks like to be Christ followers being loving humble seekers of the truth accepting and servents to those around them...Momma Kerr is a gift from God that I will always be thankful for...and I love that I get to share this specail day with her...
Now on to why this day was important to me before I met the Kerrs...
20 years ago when I was 21 months old I started to get sick with what looked like a normal flu...a few days later I was in the hospital as my whole body began to shut down threatening to take my life at a young age...from the simple flu my kidneys had failed causing my whole body to fill with toxins slowly creeping its way through my body silently trying to shut down every part of my body...yet obviously I survived because as it turns out God as always had a plan for all of this in my life...that began the journey that my family and I have been on for 20 years of truly learning to lean on God with each new day...of learning to praise God no matter what the circumstances in our lives are...of learning how fleeting this life really is and what is truly important not only here on Earth but in eternity as well...and of learning how to cope with not being in control at all as my body continues to be a mystery to us and the doctors because my jacked up body does not follow the same pattern of other people's bodies that are jacked up for the same reason...though it has been rough I would never give this life back...God can only give good gifts wither we see them that way or not...dealing my whole life with health problems would seem like a bad gift but through this God teaches me something new about His character and about myself with each new day...what could be better than that...even though it is difficult and frustrating I would choose this life and the relationship I have with Christ now over having a easy pain free life any day...God continues to teach me how faithful He is and how much He loves me everyday as He walks with me through every challenge new or old...
If that weren't enough of a reason to celebrate this bonus day this is also the day that I had a transplant 13 years ago...I could lie to you and say that 13 years ago I wasn't terrified but that would be just that a lie...I was scared out of my mind...I don't do well with uncertainty or with things I have never experianced before...I like to play it safe...so you can imagine how fearful I was with all the things that were and are unsure when it comes to such a serious surgery...8 hours later both dad (who gave me one of his kidneys) and I were out of surgery beginning the long recovery process...though there were complications afterwards because as I mentioned my body is jacked up and doesn't follow the norms (I think my body has a "don't tell me what to do" attitude problem just like I do) again God worked everything out for His glory and not our own or the doctors...
Now as my body begins to go crazy as always baffling the doctors putting another transplant at the front of our minds (which has always been a reality for me knowng that transplants are a treatment not a cure and at the time of my transplant a transplant lasted an average of 10-15 years) I can't help but want to celebrate this day as much as possible...in my mind who knows if next year we will be celebrating my transplant day on the same day...maybe by then I will have had another one...who knows but God...all I know for sure is that I will continue to celebrate today and everyday that He gives me praising Him for always giving me good gifts that draw me closer to Him and His love for me...and I will continue to pray for His will to be done in my life without my hidden agenda tucked behind those words...
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