The seasons of life can often change by the second. One moment we are in a season of bliss and the next we find ourselves under the weight of an unforeseen battle. Sometimes the trials we face can be so overwhelming that we even miss the very blessings that are right in front of us.

With all that has been going on in our lives lately, I recently decided to sit down and go through our blessings jar. It’s nothing fancy, just a place to keep record of all the good that God has brought about over the years. In doing so, two things happened. First, I was reminded of how good our God is and how much we’ve been blessed. And second, I realized that we had recently received an enormous blessing that I had not written down because it came several weeks ago when Gideon’s seizures began. So I need to send out an overdue thank you to someone, but unfortunately, I don’t know who to send it to.

I’m not sure that many people know this, but in February we signed up to go back to the Joni and Friends Family Retreat. It’s a summer respite camp for families who have children with disabilities. So in April, I received an email from Joni and Friends saying that a charge had been applied to our account and I just assumed they charged our credit card for a portion of the camp, since we had not yet paid any more than the $50 deposit. But a few weeks later I noticed another email saying the same thing, so I logged into our J&F account to see what was going on.

This is what I found…

In the midst of my pity party about Gideon’s seizures, someone paid for all four of us to attend camp! All four of us!  And the most mind-blowing part is that someone did so anonymously.

This seems to be a reoccurring theme over this past school year. First, someone anonymously gives us a wheelchair accessible van and now our summer vacation (yes family respite camp is a vacation!) is paid for by someone we may or may not even know. I don’t think that these two blessings are related, but in all honesty I’ll never really know for sure.

So to the person (persons?) living out Matthew 6:3-4, here is an overdue thank you from us-

While words could never really express just how grateful we are for your gift, I’m going to give it a try. We are beyond thankful that you would put our needs….no, our wants… before yours. You could have done so much with $1600.00 and you chose to send my family and I to a summer camp. I’m in tears over this. You’ve wrecked me for today. My focus recently has been on my fears, but because of your generosity, I’m reminded (yet again) of how God has already taken care of tomorrow… right down to every last detail. So what really then do I need to fear?

Thank you for being so selfless. Thank you for being so thoughtful. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, a million times, thank you.

Sincerely,

The Most Excited Campers

In closing, I’d also like to say another thank you to those who have followed our journey and continued to pray for us every step of the way. We have not yet overcome the seizures, but we have found peace in the process of searching for the best route for our little man. This is just another part of our little warrior’s story as he fights his big battles.

Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts and well-wishes.