Inner strength

As life usually does, tonight did not go according to plan. The plan was to be in bed by 10:30. We gathered for apartment prayer at 10. Then Jamie passed out and went into a seizure.

This is not an uncommon thing, unfortunately, but her cardiologist had instructed her to go to the ER the next time it happened so she could be monitored with professional equipment. Jamie has been dealing with seizures for a long time, and a number of specialists have been unable to determine exactly why. So after she had her first active seizure and was laying on the floor unconscious, we had our roommate prayer and Sarah called the paramedics. Sarah was once an EMT herself and has known Jamie for years, so she was able to give them the full run-down. Cassaundra and I sat quietly in the living room next to Jamie and talked to her to keep her from going into more active seizures, which partly worked and partly didn't.

It must have been a slow night, because shortly there was an ambulance and two fire trucks in front of our house, and at least eight men filing into our living room with various equipment. After some discussion and tests, Jamie was strapped on a gurney and she, Sarah, and Heather left with the paramedics for the hospital. Methinks they are in for a long night.

After all the hubbub died down, Cassaundra and I talked for a bit about the various challenges that face each of the girls in our house. It absolutely amazes me what each girl is experiencing and how much fortitude we all have. I believe our current list includes boyfriends with commitment issues, mononucleosis, unemployment, unique work challenges involving troubled teenage girls, broken bones, being single and 30, depression and anxiety (which doesn't count me, by the way- I've been depression free for a good bit now :-)), siblings with health challenges, and parents with terminal illness. Spread that across five girls and you've got a cross section of my house.

I am constantly amazed at the girls I live with and how they carry the challenges they've been given to bear. They are some of my favorite people and they are bearers of the light that they were born with. And we all draw strength from coming together and sharing our experiences and joys and sorrows. And so I don't get weighed down when I think of the burdens we bear. I smile and feel the solemn joy of knowing that I live with daughters of God who are in the thick of their training to become like their Father. As am I.