Gifts

By Rachelle

I was able to do so much with my family this summer! More than any of the previous 10 summers. We really bonded and had a lot of fun together. I treasured all the time I had to spend with Natalia. She seemed to enjoy the adventures of getting out to see the city, go shopping or trying new foods.

As we drove down out of the Andes and into the edge of the jungle there was a rainbow. It seemed that the Lord was saying that He has some new things for us and that He wanted to redeem some things we thought were lost forever.

For the longest time I thought this was our goodbye trip and I could see how impossible it would be for me to function physically there. My ability to tolerate it on this trip was pure grace. As Nate said, “The pace was unsustainable”. But slowly over time, after we left Tzapino (Tali cried hard that time) and while we went from Shell to Quito the Lord started speaking to my heart. By the time we were at the airport waiting for our flight, I knew that the Lord will take us back there again. I do not know when, how, how long etc., but I believe Him. It was still sad and hard to leave, but what a gift after all this time.

An even greater gift that boggles my mind: I am responding positively to a medication used to treat a genetic movement disorder called familial paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis. I’m seeing a monumental decrease of everything from the worst pain to the little things like insomnia, hormone imbalances and fatigue. We don’t know if this will control the disorder forever, but I’m just loving the good days. As I research I’m discovering answers to things that started in my childhood when I was a toddler and older. I can’t wrap my mind around the immensity of God’s goodness. It is possible that Tali’s headaches and muscle spasms are related to this disorder so we will be taking her to see my neurologist in a month or so. It would be wonderful to know this early on how to help her.