Something Beautiful

One of my most favorite messages I have ever had the priviledge to hear came to me about 9 years ago. I was at a "limbo" time in my life....newly separated, not yet blessed with Isaac, so I was really struggling to find where my "place" was. Keep in mind I was only 22 years old. I was at a women's ministry event at the church where my Dad was employed at the time, and the pastor's wife gave a message that touched my heart. It was about the Potter and the clay. Now I have always loved that illustration...how God is the Potter of our life and our being, and we are just the clay, pliable and ready to be molded. But she went through every detail of the process that the clay goes through to become pottery...."something beautiful". First, the potter starts working with the clay....working, pulling, making it elastic and pliable. This to me is the first step in our walk...when God is working on us to make us ready to receive the life He wants us to live. Then, he takes out the impurities...the rocks, sand, or anything that would make it imperfect. Picks them out one by one so all that's left is smooth clay that is ready to be molded. The next step, you would think, is the wheel. Nope. He then slams the clay on the ground to make it even more pliable. It wasn't ready yet for the molding. This represents to me, some temporary setbacks at the beginning of our walk. Things that we didn't see coming. Then, comes the wheel, which is the true molding and beautifying process. It's interesting to me that during this process, the potter continuously dips his hands in water to keep the clay hydrated. Isn't this how God molds us? Giving us our periodic drinks of His Living Water? How awesome it is that he used this illustration to show our relationship with Him! Again, just when you think it's ready to be dried out, painted and beautified....then comes the fire. What does the fire represent? Trials, brokenness, our test to see if we are truly ready to become "beautiful". But, think about what that pottery gains from the fire....luster, beauty, a more solid foundation. Hmmm.... I know in my life, I sure have been through ALOT of fires....but I always refer back to this message to remind myself, that it is God's purpose to make me into "something beautiful".... "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance." James 1:2-3

It's Been Forever and A Day!!!

WOW! I can't believe how much time has gone by since I've blogged....I think I just had to take a big breath after all of the events of the Summer. Needless to say, this is going to be a long one.

The Tyndall clan is doing WONDERFUL!! God is SOOO good! 2010 is starting out to be a great year, and we are so thankful. 2008 and 2009 were some really tough ones, so we're ready for a good year!

Will is doing great! He wore his helmet for 3 months (August-November) and his head looks beautiful! You can barely see any sign of a scar....it's pretty amazing. He is 16 months old now and into EVERYTHING! I always heard that the third one is your biggest handful, and so far, it is turning out to be so true!

Ben is doing great as well. He is in speech and occupational therapy 2 hours per week and God has truly blessed us with some wonderful therapists. I am so thankful that where we live is full of wonderful resources for those who are on the Autistic spectrum. We have pretty much everything we need in our backyard, which is a blessing.

Zac is such an awesome kid....I can't say enough good about this child. He loves art, music (as always) and as of late, NASCAR (he is a big fan of Jimmie Johnson). He plays about three sports a year (soccer, basketball and baseball) and loves it.

Oh, and probably the biggest news of all, is I am now a homeschooling mom and I am loving every minute of it. We decided mid-November (due to Ben having some negative experiences in a classroom setting) to start schooling Ben at home, and about a week later, Zac said, "Mommy, I want to be homeschooled too." Well, what could we say? So now, I have all three at home and I love it. It works for us...I know it's not for everyone, but it definitely fits our lifestyle.

Isaac is great. New Gate Realty is doing well as we have restructured our business plan (due to this lovely economy) by focusing on rental property management, and so far, that has turned out to be a good move. Within the past couple months, he has also started "Charity Youth Athletics" at our church (Charity Baptist Church in Kannapolis) which started out this Fall with soccer and will continue in the Spring with baseball. He loves it and it has really given him his ministry "niche".

So, hmm, I think that's all of the highlights. We had an awesome Christmas and we are loving our church....God truly took us to that place in the most difficult time in our life and we are so thankful for our Charity family. During Will's surgery, they were there every step of the way and we will never forget it.:)

I PROMISE to keep this updated more often...ya'll hold me to that!

Love and hugs,

Caroline:)

We're Still Here...

I know it's been forever since I've posted. Will is recovering so well and is in his little helmet. It's so cute...Mom did a great job painting it just like a UNC football helmet. At only 11 months old, he's ready to be a Tarheel! Everything is going so well and we are so grateful to God for blessing Will with an awesome recovery. It's amazing to think of where we were 3 weeks ago (and what condition he was in). Now, we're getting ready for school to start and all that ensues with that. Never a dull moment in the Tyndall household. I'll keep posting more often...now that we're back to the real world again. Thank you all again for your support and prayers. Keep praying for his healing and recovery. Love ya'll!

Great is Thy Faithfulness...

Well....so much has happened since my last post!! I thought I would have really good internet access in the hospital, so forgive me for not updating sooner. Today is Friday, July 24th....four days after Will's operation and everything went SO WELL!!! The other side of surgery feels SO much better! These past four days have been a whirlwind, but I can tell you that God had his hand in every minute detail of this week. He has been so faithful from beginning to end. The recovery that Will is making is miraculous. He is pretty much back to his normal self again....eating, playing with his brothers, crawling, it's just amazing. WE SERVE A MIGHTY, AWESOME POWERFUL GOD and to HIM BE ALL THE GLORY!!! God has never failed me, never, and if I praise Him for the rest of my days it would not be enough! I want to share something that happened on the day of surgery that shows His provision during our darkest times. We dropped Zac and Ben off at Allen and Doris's house (my in-laws) and were getting ready to get in the car to head over to the hospital. Then Doris said "Look at that yellow finch". Well, I'll be honest, I have never seen a yellow finch in my life (not that I can recall). I thought those were birds that you buy in pet stores, like parakeets....I had no idea they were in NC. I think Isaac and I both said something like "Oh that's neat" and went on our way to hospital. A few hours later, while we were in the 5th floor surgery waiting room during the procedure, there was a lull in the conversation me, Mom, Stephanie and Heidi were having. Out of the blue, my sister Stephanie said "There has been a yellow finch flying back and forth along these windows as long as we've been sitting here." Isaac and I looked at each other....we immediately knew that was God's sign that he was with us and that His angels were watching over us. That one yellow finch then became about 5 that were perched atop of the tree that was right at the window. Isaac said he envisioned those as angels that were talking to each other, making sure we were ok. It's amazing what God uses to show His love for us. A finch (probably one of the smallest birds) was used by Him to show us that He was watching over Will and watching over us. This process is still ongoing, as Will is still in recovery, but I want to say this: Isaac and I know what life is all about....it's not about material things, money, stuff, or anything else the world has to offer. It's about family, it's about praising God and clinging to Him everyday of our life. God is the giver of life, and we owe Him everything. Every good and perfect gift comes from above!!! Throughout this week, this song has been in my mind every day as a song of praise. "Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."

Emotions

Well, it's 2 days away from surgery (I can't believe I am writing that, it's been such a long road) and I am pretty much numb. I feel like God is just leading me and I am doing everything I need to do to get through the day. I was a little upset this morning, just because everything hit me (I have those times every now and then) and Isaac told me "Just think, next week this time this thing that has consumed our life for the past 3 months will be over.", and that put my mind at ease a little bit. I get upset when I start thinking about the actual procedure and what's it's going to be like to let him go....it just tears me up. BUT, I really can't let my mind go there. So, I choose to be numb versus being a basketcase. So now Lord, lead me. Get me up and out of bed on Monday morning and help me as I embark on a process, as hard as it may be, that I know will make my child's life better. Isn't that our job as parents? It's just not easy, ever, whether your dealing with a fever in the middle of the night or approaching your baby's surgery. I heard a quote the other day that really spoke to me; "I never knew my heart could come out of my body and walk around on it's own, until I had a child. Truer words have never been spoken.....

All Pre-Ops Completed...

Well, now we can say the next time we head over to Charlotte will be on Monday morning, the day of surgery. Yesterday, we went for Will's "pre-op screening" at Levine Children's Hospital (which is a part of CMC Main in Charlotte), and that went very well. I had no idea what to expect, I knew the anesthesiologist was going to talk to us about what he was going to be doing, but other than that, I had no clue. We got there, they took Will's weight and height and head measurements. The anesthesiologist then came in and talked about the type of anesthesia they are using: general (of course) for the procedure with an IV morphene drip afterwards for the pain, followed by normal pain medication. All of the IV's will be applied while he is asleep so he won't have any discomfort from that. He was very nice and said that we are in the best hands possible with Dr. Heafner: he does about 2-3 of these per week. Then we talked to the care partner who was there to educate us on the in's and out's of the hospital. She was wonderful and really took time with Zac and Ben to explain what was going to be happening with their brother. We saw an PICU room (where we'll be staying the first night) and then a regular hospital room. Both of them are so nice and HUGE compared to our local hospital's rooms. We saw the surgery waiting room...they have TV, computers (with internet access) and receptionists that will keep us informed on how the surgery is going. So overall, yesterday was great. It really put my mind at ease knowing that we are going to such a state-of-the-art Children's Hospital. Today, we went to Cranial Techologies in Charlotte. That's where Will will be getting his post-op helmet (pc term "DOC Band") on. They took pre-op pictures of different angles of his head and we go back on July 27th (1 week post-op) for pictures after surgery. Then on August 3rd he will be fitted with his band. We already have plans to decorate it like a UNC-Chapel Hill football helmet. Hey, he's a boy, why not have fun with it? That was actually my idea, not Isaac's. :) SO, now we are in the process of doing laundry, packing and getting all of our ducks in a row for Monday. I know there are so many of you out there that are praying for him and us, and for that, we are eternally grateful!! God has given us a wonderful family and support network of friends that are helping us through this time everyday. Keep going to the Father on our behalf and I will keeping you all updated as often as I can. Much love from me and Isaac! :)

Rescue

This song has always been special to me, but especially during these trying times...thought I would share it with you all. To view the video, just click on this post's title, "Rescue". It's such an anointed song....it says simply, "I need you Jesus, to come to my rescue, where else can I go? There's no other name by which I am saved, capture me with grace, I will follow you..." Simple post today...one week from the surgery date. At this time next week the surgery will be over. I will be so relieved once it is over, but I am still dreading it.. It's very hard to put into words the complete rollercoaster of emotions I experience daily. This too shall pass...this too shall pass.