A Day of Praise

My Monday morning began early. Evie woke at 3am crying and when I went to check on her, I found that she had a fever of 102. This was particularly scary for me because of her history of having a febrile seizure. The doctor told us that it could recur any time her fever was above 100.4, so I immediately began to do all the things I had learned to bring her fever down. It reduced to 101, and eventually she went back to sleep. After much prayer, I also returned to bed. 

The morning was busy as we were getting back into our routines after having week off from classes. We also had a government official coming to visit our campus to determine if the building permit would be approved and if we could begin building the additional classrooms we need to accommodate the students we are expecting for next school year. It is estimated to take 8-9 months, so we have been feeling a bit of a time crunch. The process of approval has also recently added several steps, so it was costing more and taking longer than we expected. 

I also had been waiting for the American dentist who has been doing check-ups on my tongue to return from the US because I had some questions and concerns. He has been doing my follow-up care since I had surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells almost 6 years ago. We had scheduled the appointment for Monday afternoon. Since our dentist and doctor are in the same building, we decided to take Evie for some bloodwork to determine the cause of her fevers at the same time. 

As I began the day, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed at the thought of juggling it all. I was planning to keep Evie in the back of my classroom in order to keep a close eye on her. I set up a place for her to rest and play next to my desk. The first blessing of the day was that when Evie woke, she did not have a fever! I was so very thankful! 

Soon after we started school, the government official arrived, earlier than expected, which is highly unusual here. Our builder and the GSF director of Education met with him and he approved the site for us to begin building! This second blessing was an answer to weeks of prayers! 

Since we were hoping for this result, we had planned a tentative ground breaking ceremony for lunch Monday so that the workers could begin on Tuesday. We had a time with our students to thank God for his provision both for the finances to begin the project and the approval to begin. We had to shift the prayer inside since it was raining at the time, but our Ugandan teacher reminded us that rain at the time of a ceremony was a reminder of God’s blessing. The rain was my third reminder of God’s blessing that day. After our time of prayer, the rain stopped for a brief time and we were able to go out and break ground. 

Soon after the ground breaking we headed to town for the dentist and doctor appointments. I saw our dentist first and he examined my tongue. He explained that all the changes I have experienced with my tongue are still completely normal. He does not see any reason for concern about abnormal cells. He said he is 0% concerned about that. He thinks that the changes I have noticed are probably more related to stress and anxiety. He encouraged me that I don’t need to worry about my tongue and also encouraged me with God’s Word about the other concerns in my life. It was the best possible outcome and my fourth answer to prayer and blessing from God.

After my check-up, Evie was seen by the doctor. We needed to do some bloodwork to check for malaria and other possible infections to determine the cause of her fever. She did not want to go to the lab because the last time we did that, they had difficulty getting a vein. It was a traumatic for both of us. Evie even said, “I don’t want to get better.” But this time, the nurse was able to draw blood quickly and without much pain. A fifth blessing and answer to prayer! 

While we were waiting for the results of the bloodwork, I received a phone call from our friend who is helping us with the paperwork for Evie’s passport. The printer had been repaired and the adoption certificate was finally printed! This was the final document we were told we need for our passport application. Our friend is going to pick up the certificate today and I am going to go to Kampala on Thursday to reapply for Evie’s passport. We had been waiting for this document for weeks! This was a sixth blessing and answer to prayer! 

After getting off the phone, the doctor had the results of the bloodwork. Evie had a bacterial infection and prescribed antibiotics. I was thankful that it was not malaria, which is so miserable, and it seemed like we caught the infection soon enough that it did not become too severe. Evie’s fever did not get very high again and she has not had a seizure! A seventh blessing and answer to prayer! 

As I returned home, I was overwhelmed with God’s many blessings to us on this day. I began the day overwhelmed with anxieties, but I ended the day overwhelmed by God’s gracious provision for us in so many ways! I was reminded that we are encouraged many times in God’s Word to recount God’s goodness and loving care for us. Counting my blessings in this post has reminded me to continue to be thankful. And in those times when I am asked to wait, I want to remember and rest in God’s provision in the past. This day was an “ebeneezer,” a stone of remembrance. Whether today is a day of being overwhelmed with many blessings or a day of just being overwhelmed, I hope that hearing about God’s provision on this day helps you to rejoice and remember!