HOMECOMING! MIRACLES HAPPEN!

Since April I have been adding words to this blog as a way of crying out to God that He would bring healing and LIGHT and LIFE and miracles to Charli and her whole family! I cannot describe the emotion and JOY I feel to read these words that her mommy has written about her HOMECOMING!!! Thank you for reminding me that God wants HIS WORKS to be known and declared - through our mouths, through technology, through the heavens, and through warrior princesses like Charli Vaughan!

Here are Kelly's words on this Sabbath:

After much waiting and many many ups and downs it looks as though we will be bringing our princess home tomorrow. We have been waiting to complete all of our hospital training and tasks and if things go well tonight we will be able to go and snatch her up.

My heart is filled with so many different emotions. Of course, I am so very overwhelmed with joy. This has been a hope that has been deferred much longer than I would've liked. I am also terrified. Bringing a sick preemie home is trickier than it looks. She will be on a monitor when she rests and have oxygen on stand bye if she needs it especially during her feeds. And the medicine..... does that girl have a lot of meds. So much to learn for this slow brain. Again, the Lord is calling us to learn a new path. One that is unfamiliar and one that requires total dependence on Him. I am seeing a strong trend in my walk with the Lord lately. He desires for me to be totally needy all the time. He wants me to be ok with not being able to figure things out. I hate this. I so want to be able to organize and manage my life. God is not interested in my ability to manage. He continues to call me towards a life of WILD ABANDONMENT. So scary.

These past few weeks have been very important in my spiritual life. I hope everyone knows that this season has not been one of total reliance and confidence on the Lord. It has been one of great questioning, fear, sadness and anger. The Lord has allowed me to wrestle with Him and He has allowed me to express my heart. Many of you know that we have prayed many prayers over over children this past year. The Lord did not give me the desires of my heart regarding many of those prayers. When Charli was making good progress and past her due date she was still REALLY struggling with her feeds. I think everyone was motioning towards the G-tube. It would allow her to be fed through her belly instead of by mouth. This is something they do often but it was something I did not want for her. It would require surgery that would require her to be put back on oxygen and back on the vent for awhile. This would mean we would be taking a big step backwards. Not to mention we would be out another 7-10 days while she recovered. I immediately went on a mission. I began asking the Lord to work a miracle. I knew from experience she would never be able to take her feeds if HE didn't do it. I asked you to join me in those prayers. I began feeling very confident that this was something the Lord was going to do. We began seeing progress. It was slow but it was progress. Feeding her is not easy. It is a science and requires a lot of love and patience. During the past couple of weeks we have had more ups and downs with her feeds. I am convinced the Lord wanted to show me as well as everyone else that this is HIS miracle. It's not just that she matured or "it clicked." It not because I am her mommy and she will eat well from me. It is not because we have figured out all the right tricks. No, HE wanted to be sure that we knew it was HIS hand and HIS ALONE. Each day I feed her I am reminded that this is a miracle from the Lord. She can eat from a bottle because He has and is sustaining her. I am so thankful. Honestly, I am more thankful for what this has done in regards to my heart than Charli eating from a bottle. The Lord has loved on me in a special way. He has given me a gift and I want everyone to know that Charli's life is a miracle and so is her ability to eat. To God be the Glory.

We don't have specifics on timing and we still have to get through the night but we are thrilled. We are dreaming along with our children about having our family united under one roof. My heart is full. So many emotions. I wish I could express it all. Please keep praying. Her body is still fragile. Her lungs are still sick and she needs to remain very sheltered.

Here are some pics from today. One is of her in her new monitor belt. The others show her beautiful face free from all tubes. A sight for sore eyes.

My precious sister in law gave me Charli's miracle outfit at my shower. She had no idea that as she was making it The Lord had a very specific miracle in mind. It was one that would bless my heart and strengthen the faith of many...mostly my own weary faith. Miracles do happen. As Eloise reminded me last night many miracles take place that we never know about. She is right. Most of the time my heart is just too hard or too busy to notice. I am thankful the Lord gave me boldness and courage to ask for this miracle as well as the eyes to see it.