Baby Jack

On Saturday night, the main toilet in our home clogged, spewing its contents all over the bathroom and causing my husband countless hours of frustration as he attempted to fix the offending appliance. It was extremely annoying and very inconvenient. . .

Also on Saturday, I had to take the Spud in to Urgent Care to find out if he had an ear infection. After three hours in a waiting room with a 2-year-old that alternated between extreme hyper-activity and tearful exhaustion, I was told that he did have a severe ear infection. I then had the pleasure of waiting in a pharmacy line for almost an hour to get his antibiotics. It was all very annoying and extremely inconvenient. . .

Sunday night found me at home with the Spud, pinning him to the ground to give him his antibiotics and getting him ready for bed. I helped him clean up his room and put all his toys back in his closet. As I leaned over to pick up yet another Hot Wheel car, I felt a sharp twinge shoot up my back. I couldn't stand up without extreme pain. Apparently, somehow I threw out my back and so spent the night sleepless on the living room recliner. The next day, the Nerd ended up staying home from work to help me with tasks I couldn't complete with a bad back, like driving the Drama Queen to and from school and changing diapers and Pull-Ups. It was (and is!) annoying and incovenient. . .

But that's all those things were - annoying and inconvenient. It was easy to have a grumpy attitude and a "why me?" tone when all these things stacked up, one after another. In the course of a few days, they seemed so large and overwhelming; but in the grand scheme of life, they were small and insignificant.

I was thinking about that this morning while I prayed for my brother Tom, his wife Laura, and their six sweet little girls. You see, their lives have been hit by more upheaval than any ear infection or plugged toilet could cause. On November 15, 2010, Laura gave birth to their first son - two months before he was due to arrive. Little Jack came into the world struggling for life. His body was racked with infections, and the doctors were not hopeful that he would survive past those first few days of life. We were amazed at God's blessing when Jack turned one week old. That one week turned into two weeks, then three, and more, as his prognosis improved. Tom and Laura went through many hills and valleys during this time as Jack would first show progress and be taken off the respirators and then a few days later suffer seizures and more infection. This past weekend, Jack had to be rushed back into the NICU. Due to another E. coli infection and meningitis, he suffered a lot of bleeding on the brain. On January 24, 2011, Jack was released from his pain and suffering here on earth and went home to be with the Lord.

I wish that I had had a chance to meet Jack before he left this earth, but I know I will see my little nephew some day in Heaven. It definitely makes our problems seem small and not so important. Please pray for peace and healing for the family.

We love you Jack and will miss you!