A letter of gratitude...

Wednesday started out like any other ordinary day. Alarm beeped too early, lunches got packed, sleepy kids asked for five more minutes. All things we take for granted as we walk through our overbooked, hurried, hectic days here on this earth. Wednesday’s agenda was fairly low key. Just a couple doctor appointments to be on time for (Promptness is not always our strong suit).  By the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around, life as we knew it had come to a screeching halt.

“The MRI has shown a spot on Kelsie’s brain.” In an instant we went from planning our days to not knowing what to do with next second. Our instructions were to go straight to Birmingham, where a neurosurgeon would be expecting us. As we left the doctor’s office I just kept thinking about how we talk all the time about having faith in God, and how this was our time to live out what we profess.  With that at the forefront of our minds, we headed north.

The five days that followed held more than we could ever imagine. I’ve heard the testimonies of believers that speak of an overwhelming and inexplicable peace that they’ve felt during times spent in the valley.  I can now say that not only have I heard testimony of this peace, I’ve lived it. I’ve felt it. Foremost, we petitioned God for Kelsie’s complete healing. We also prayed that God would use this experience to change lives. If one soul is saved, if even one person surrenders their life and accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, it would all be worth it. I told God, no matter the outcome, I would still love Him and still praise Him.  

During this time we vowed to look for God’s hand in every moment. He was faithful to reveal Himself to us. We saw Him revealed, in the confidence of the surgeon, in sweet Mary the nurse anesthetist, in the quiet spirit of Emily our PICU nurse, in Justin, the CA who worked a twenty four hour shift and always had a smile on his face. We saw His subtle gestures in “Amanda” one of our nurses, in Cassie our nurse that reminded us of our precious Kaitlyn, in the chicken picture beside our level on the elevator buttons, in the corner room location that overlooked the Birmingham Barons baseball field on opening night. A thousand little ways that our Great and Glorious God showed us that He was there with us and He loved us.

Above all of that He showed His love through each and every one of you. Don’t ever let Satan tell you that you can’t be used by God. Your fervent prayers on our behalf are what carried us through. The phone calls, the texts, the visits, the cards and gifts. You were and are the hands and feet of Jesus. My vocabulary doesn’t contain words that are adequate enough to describe how thankful we are to you all. I can’t begin to put in to words how thankful we are to our Heavenly Father. I find myself at times throughout the day, compelled to fall prone before Him and do nothing but weep and praise just how amazing and awesome He truly is.

We thank our families and our friends that we consider family, for taking care of Kaylee and Kensley while we were away. Thank you Mandy for driving us to the hospital Wednesday night and for staying there and translating all the doctor lingo. Thank you June and Larry for getting the girls up to Birmingham to see us. Thank you  Mama and Daddy for getting them to and from school. Thank you Twilight and Pat for loving them like your own. For making sure Kensley was dressed for Spring picture day.  Thank you Twilight for remembering to fix them an after school snack because they are always starving when they come home. Thank you to all my precious sisters who came to sit with us on the day of surgery and made the trip back the very next day to bring Mama and Daddy. Thank you to Kasey Bossard, who made two trips so that Billy and Eric could see that Kelsie was ok with their own two eyes. Thank you to Brother Jeff and Becky who came and stayed prayed with us before and after surgery. Thank you to Kelsie’s principle Hugh White and his wife Traci, who brought their daughter, Kelsie’s precious best friend, to see her. To all the visitors there that day and the days that followed. Andrea, Sharon, Mal, Grace, Casey, Chad, Bill and Terry, Jolene, Deborah, Katie, Callie, Amanda, Savannah, Emmy, and Bailey. Thanks to all the teachers, staff and PTO officers at Pollard-McCall that text and called to check on Kelsie. Thank you to Mr. Steve Sellers, friend of Charles Jackson, from the Alabama Children’s Home who came and prayed with us after surgery. To everyone we encountered at Benjamin Russell Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, you were outstanding.

As we wait to hear from the doctor this week, we ask that you continue to pray for a good report from pathology. We are praying expecting a result of benign, and give God all the glory for that report.

Lastly, we ask that you use the same diligence you used in praying for Kelsie, to pray for our sweet cousin Elle and her family. We won’t know, this side of Heaven, why God works His miracles swiftly on some and lingers on others. What we do know is, He is a merciful and gracious God and He is indeed a God that heals. We ask the Holy Spirit to fill them with peace and strength and we ask God for nothing short of complete healing for Elle.

Thank you friends.

Thank you Jehovah Rophi, our God Who Heals.

We are overwhelmed by your love.

Standing strong on the Solid Rock,

Jeremy, Tracey, Kaylee, Kelsie, and Kensley Padgett

Day of surgery in PICU

Three days after surgery. Home sweet home.