Justin is experiencing bruising that has not occurred by injury. This is a sign of low platelets and he will need another blood transfusion tomorrow morning.

It’s funny how the little things can get me so undone. After everything Justin has been through, seeing his badly bruised hip as he undressed for the bathtub, sent me running out the back door blinking back tears and speed dialing on-call oncology.

I am collected now, perched on the couch and making necessary arrangements for another long day at clinic. Michael just sailed down the stairs, threw his arms around me, smacking his wet, shampoo-fragrant head against my cheek, and reminded me “it’s time for family devotions. And it’s my turn to read.”

God sees the hard and harrowing moments and moves His faithful hand over every second we come a little or a lot undone. God sees us. He sees twisting fingers around my phone on the back step and He sees Justin’s bruised body. He sees spaghetti sauce encrusted dishes piled in the sink, and He sees me heating sore muscles and too tired to care. He sees our recurring dream of medication and pain and trips to clinic. Except it’s not a dream. He sees.

And somehow the hard is making us holy. (Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Peter 5:10, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17, 1 Peter 4:1-2) Grace be with you, my friends.