My days are filled with data spreadsheet projects for soon-to-be published medical papers on Myeloma & related disorders, and meeting patients. It's a fascinating thing to observe folks' differing responses to their physical plight: Patients with Middle to Upper class backgrounds nearly always lower the shoulder & attempt to take as much control as possible by becoming educated about all they can do to keep themselves healthy. Some folks with lower-class backgrounds appear angry and very distrustful in the beginning, but then grow to accept it and then become nearly too compliant, not asking questions, simply having given up that they'd ever know as much as a Dr. or Nurse.... It breaks my heart to see such lack of hope in some people. Speaking of which, yes, indeed. Molly and I are about to undergo a transition into a new phase of life: I will become a Resident Assistant for a new program called Immerse Arkansas ( seen here: http://vimeo.com/12093077 )--set up to assist teens who have "graduated" out of the Arkansas Foster Care System immerse themselves into adulthood. This new venture will require Molly and me to move into an older apartment complex in a slightly less affluent part of the city.
In other news, we're excited about also "immersing" :) ourselves into parenthood come Febuary 3rd, 2011. Once our move settles in, we expect to focus a bit more on that new thought. Our commitment to the R.A. position with Immerse AR is for 1 year. After that time we'll re-assess and see how our 788-square-foot apartment fits our child's needs as he/she begins to take his/her first steps.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Yoatgurt: Perfectly Pregnant with Ceativity
My beautiful wife of two and a half years is pregnant with our first child! As one might imagine, I am both excited & experiencing a lot of new things through this endeavor.
I just want to brag on my increasingly… um… inventive wife. This is why I Cc'd some friends on this e-mail I sent her this morning:
Dearest Molly,
I want to thank you for bringing me into your world a little bit this morning. A world that is increasingly made up of new flavors, colors, shapes and tastes. New... life, really!
For instance, the tartly-organic, yogurt-flavored oatmeal I was surprised to see this morning was especially exotic!
Yours is a labor of love that you show daily in faithfully packing me new and exciting ways to do lunch. You truly are the pregnantly-inspired master chef in my life. I adore you.
Grateful for new experiences,
Joseph
Friday, July 23, 2010
"Healer"
Just received some of the saddest news one could ever receive. See below e-mail[I've removed their names for privacy]:
"Hello all.
Many of you know D and S from church. They lost their 1.5 year old daughter, "baby A", yesterday to cancer. They have been at Children's for the past month and have now returned home. I can only imagine the grieving they have done over the past month and now this week.
They are members of Mosaic and are very receptive and appreciative of any meals we can offer. (They were eating fast food for the past month as D continued working, S stayed at the hospital, and they both continued to care for their ten year old child.)...etc."
my thoughts:
How horrifying for them.... It's a nightmare turned reality for a parent. How awful for everyone who knows them. How sinister an offense of this damnedable, cursed, broken world! How dare this baby be snatched from the arms of her loving mommy & hard-working, long-suffering daddy!
O Jesus, come quickly & redeam Your world, please.
I think of the struggle I've had with the Hillsong song we've sung in church, "I believe You're my Healer"....
I have had thoughts like, "Where is our Healer when there is such pain & loss... and suffering after the loss? Is He Really our Healer?? And then I think of the graciousness of God to have gone through all of that pain and suffering before us. To have lost His only child to a world of pain. I've since realized that the words of the song remain true, despite my painful experiences.
Precious baby A now knows this better than I'll ever figure out in my lifetime. I praise God that He has overcome, and He truly is the Ultimate Healer, whether He does so in this life or after. Today, baby A sings songs to her Healer - beautiful, lively songs that would blow our wildest imaginations!
In the mean time, we are left here without her. We pray for grace, for comfort, for hope... until the day when we are all together with Jesus & with baby A.
"Even so, Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!"
"Hello all.
Many of you know D and S from church. They lost their 1.5 year old daughter, "baby A", yesterday to cancer. They have been at Children's for the past month and have now returned home. I can only imagine the grieving they have done over the past month and now this week.
They are members of Mosaic and are very receptive and appreciative of any meals we can offer. (They were eating fast food for the past month as D continued working, S stayed at the hospital, and they both continued to care for their ten year old child.)...etc."
my thoughts:
How horrifying for them.... It's a nightmare turned reality for a parent. How awful for everyone who knows them. How sinister an offense of this damnedable, cursed, broken world! How dare this baby be snatched from the arms of her loving mommy & hard-working, long-suffering daddy!
O Jesus, come quickly & redeam Your world, please.
I think of the struggle I've had with the Hillsong song we've sung in church, "I believe You're my Healer"....
I have had thoughts like, "Where is our Healer when there is such pain & loss... and suffering after the loss? Is He Really our Healer?? And then I think of the graciousness of God to have gone through all of that pain and suffering before us. To have lost His only child to a world of pain. I've since realized that the words of the song remain true, despite my painful experiences.
Precious baby A now knows this better than I'll ever figure out in my lifetime. I praise God that He has overcome, and He truly is the Ultimate Healer, whether He does so in this life or after. Today, baby A sings songs to her Healer - beautiful, lively songs that would blow our wildest imaginations!
In the mean time, we are left here without her. We pray for grace, for comfort, for hope... until the day when we are all together with Jesus & with baby A.
"Even so, Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!"
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