A Heart of Gratitude 11/24/16
Day 58:
If you had told me back in September that my overriding emotion through these difficult times would be “gratitude”, I would have said you had lost your mind. But that is exactly where I am… where our family is. Through your endless expressions of love and kindness we have found comfort, strength, faith, and hope…and all that has fashioned in us hearts of gratitude.
On this Thanksgiving Day the Fohners wish to thank everyone for all the ways you have reached out and supported us. We give thanks for all the doctors and nurses who have cared for Josh. We give thanks for the social workers and case workers who have helped us handle the curveballs that have been thrown our way. We give thanks for family who are walking hand-in-hand with us. We give thanks for friends who have filled his room with sweet expressions of love. We give thanks for churches, schools, and organizations from all over the country who have worked to meet our needs. And we give thanks for the overwhelming kindness of strangers who have crossed our path along this journey. But most of all we give thanks to our Lord for all the ways he has used you all to love on us and especially our son and brother, Josh.
As you gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving Day, we encourage you to hold that hug just a little longer, squeeze their hand just one more time, pause and look into their eyes and say ‘I love you’. For we are so thankful to be able to do these things with Josh!
Today we wanted to share a picture of Josh for 2 reasons. First, for those who saw Josh in Colorado; we wanted to show you how far he has come since those first few weeks. Second, for those of you who haven’t been able to see Josh and are struggling to picture him in your minds after the accident.
This is a picture of Josh before physical therapy the other day. As you can see, his eyes are open. For now, they keep him in the neck brace, to stabilize him as he regains the strength in his neck and to stretch his neck. Because of where the surgeries were and where the impact of the accident was, he has favored his left side since the accident. He also has on a back brace, which is used to help stabilize him during physical therapy. These are both things that should go away over time. As we have mentioned before, this is a long road and Josh has a long way to go, but already Josh is able to do things that we thought a miracle several weeks ago. And we are so thankful that God works miracles.
Colossians 4:2-3
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving: praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ…”
All In For Josh
