Hope Past Midnight

​For some reason, when the clock strikes midnight, I often think about Cinderella. 

I imagine her running out of the ball, losing a shoe, and wonder how she felt as she replayed all that had happened during the past few hours with her prince charming. 

The most recent 2015 version of the movie definitely plays in my mind as I sit here during the midnight hour, with my shoes off, next to my sleeping prince charming. Unfortunately, I am not wearing glass slippers and this story is all kinds of mixed up.

In all practicality, I know life is not a fairy tale, even though one of my first thoughts this morning was, “what shoes do I wear to my husband’s brain biopsy?”

Moving on, today has been long and stressful, but overall, it has gone well. Josh's brain biopsy happened around noon and he has been recovering ever since. The incision in his hairline is barely noticeable and our evening in ICU has been calm. While we are not out of the woods (at all), we now settle back in and wait a few more days on pathology results to guide our next steps. The doctor felt good about the biopsy but is still not sharing much – which is to be expected.

And yep, it’s still complicated. From what we can tell, the tumor hasn’t changed much in the past week but I’ve noticed Josh is more tired and disconnected. It’s still hard to explain to people, but there is a difference from the regular Josh-operating system and the current version. To make it a bit more confusing, if you call, text or see him in person, he might look normal and tell you he is doing good, but he also might not remember many (or any) details of the conversation you just had – tricky! –  I know! 

Maybe because it's midnight, but the more I think about it, there are a lot of elements of a fairy-tale here: time clocks, missing shoes, main characters sleeping, feeling like we’re stuck in the woods, an overwhelming sense of hope, and, of course, some fear.  
 
As we begin a new day, our story continues. We are beyond grateful for the love, care, support and prayers. What a privilege it is to have friends both near and far who care so much. Thank you.
Our hearts are full.

We continue to hold tight to the truth that God is with us and that there is much hope to be found in his story and ours, even in the midst of such uncertainty. 


Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Romans 15:13

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