Are you surprised I haven't written in 3 months? Me neither! I wish I had all the time in the world to meet up with every person who might read this, because there's just something so good about sitting across from someone in the flesh and sharing vulnerably about what the Lord is up to. It's one of my most favorite things to do.
So this is a little update for the folks who I just don't get to see or visit with much.
The last three months have been such a blur of activity both in our spiritual lives and our physical lives.
I know I have not been very candid about Naomi's story on the internet, and I still feel okay about that. But in short, as a vague background, because of multiple complications during birth, Naomi has been significantly delayed in most areas of development, except the development of adorableness and being the kindest, most forgiving babe in the world (and her hair...she's got a lot of that!).
I'd love to talk to you more in person about her journey and tell you the crazy things God's doing in and through her little body. It's been an incredibly humbling journey with the Lord as we pursue His will for her life, His desire for her total health and restoration in this life, and how He wants us to share His desires for her with everyone in need, because it's for everyone!
I say all that as a preface, because Naomi has made some huge leaps in her physical therapy that have been nothing short of miraculous. We spent 5 days in the hospital in the beginning of December with Naomi as she was recovering from a very severe case of pneumonia, enterovirus, and rhinovirus at the same time. We couldn't understand why we were at the hospital AGAIN and why our girl has had to go through more than most adults ever have, but like God does, He brought greatness from sadness. We got chances to love on and and pray for other parents and kids in the PICU, and in general just seek the Lord even harder in the spiritual darkness of a hospital. We went in with a sick girl and left with a more lively, squirmy, and physically stronger baby than we came in with (and I mean, stronger than she was before she even came down with those illnesses mentioned above). God used her time in the hospital to develop muscle strength and tone, despite her laying in a bed for the better part of 5 days. That's our God. Her head and neck control is almost completely restored, she has positive weight bearing throughout her legs when we help her stand, and she even attempted to TAKE STEPS at therapy the other day while we were holding her up. GUYS. She has made more progress in the last month than in the last year. And we can't even say, "Oh, it's because of therapy or all the work we do at home with her," because she was sick for so long we literally missed weeks of therapy and didn't work with her at home for the same amount of time. It's not out of our work. God continues to breath His strength into her and she just keeps getting better. I don't have a grid for what God's going to do through our girl, but gosh, I am humbled and honored that He's taking us with Him. Would you join us in prayer for continued progress in all areas of Naomi's life? Our prayers our powerful and effective. We've seen the fruit of thousands of prayers on ours and Naomi's behalves.
Kevin and I have been taking a class every Thursday night through our church called School of Kingdom Ministry (SoKM). WHERE DO I EVEN START?! Everyone in the world needs to take this class. Google School of Kingdom Ministry and then let me know if it interests you. I will get you in touch with the right folks! In the words of Tulsa's finest rock n' roll group Copy Copy, it's like a mind castle during every class. We are learning so much about who God really is. Spoiler alert: He's better than you could ever imagine! Most days I'm doing good to hold on to 1 out of many revelations I get during our teachings and activations. 26 years of belief is totally being shaken, broken, weeded through, thrown out, refined, restored, and renewed. I feel like I'm being born again over and over and over through this class. The Word of God is finally coming alive and making sense for the first time in my life, and my purpose of Kingdom ministry and life is becoming increasingly clear and harder to ignore. Guys, if you feel the tug of the Lord into a lifestyle deeper and more meaningful than what you're currently experiencing, I am certain this class will help guide you into something greater.
I realize my long paragraph on SoKM is kind of vague - just another reason we need to chat over a hot cup of tea (coffee hurts my stomach). So much to talk about!
I know there is a lot I left out of this post, but these are the two big things happening with the Skillern trio right now.
I'll leave you with a little number from I book I'm reading by Jack Frost called Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship. It spoke to exactly the part of my heart that desires to know experience God as my Father:
"God is love. And feeling secure as sons and daughters in his fatherly embrace is what everything in creation is all about. The Kingdom of Heaven is all about love, joy, and peace, and being free from fear, insecurity, and anxiety. Perfect love is what characterizes Heaven, and God's perfect unconditional fatherly love is available to you each day - no fear, anxiety, anger, bitterness, hurt feelings, or resentment."
That's the big Love I want and need. That's the kind of love that takes spiritual orphans and makes them sons and daughters again. That kind of love brings freedom.
If you made it to the end of this ridiculously long post, thanks for taking the time to read! I can't wait to share more of our story as it continues to unfold.
