Thank you God for Shin Splints- Part 6 (The Conclusion)

(this is the 6th part of a long story I started blogging a while back. for it all to flow, you might want to archive back and begin w/ Part 1)


Chase continued to improve, slowly but surely. I actually got to hold him for the first time when he was 5 days old. It was incredible. The NICU had a specific way they wanted you to hold them, called Kangaroo Care. It is when you open up your shirt and lay the baby's bare chest on your bare chest. Their stats stabilize and improve almost immediately. Their oxygen saturation gets higher, they are calm, and they even begin to pick up your breathing patterns.

What an incredible picture of how we are when we are in the arms of God. When we are right where we are supposed to be. Our lives are optimized. We even begin to have the same 'heartbeat' as God. Oh what a sweet place to be. Everything is truly stabilized and running just like it is supposed to.

We remained in the hospital for a total of 12 days. We were so blessed by numerous visitors and our families were there 90% of the time. God truly sent His best angels to minister to us during that time.

The day finally came when we got to go home. Whew! I was a nervous wreck. Chase did not come home with any monitors or medications. He was healed completely. He was eating and sleeping perfectly. But I was scared to death. So momma came home with us too. Things really did go very well. I just simply could not stop praising God for what He had done. He had basically taken Chase from his death bed and revived him with new life. I remember at one time thinking, "Ok, if I don't keep thanking God, Chase will be sick again". Man, Satan really pulls some cheap punches. He even tries to sabotage miracles and enjoying the miracle. I sent him running with those thoughts and told him that God healed Chase and that was that. I rested in peace after that.

After being in NICU you must do developmental check ups to make sure the baby develops correctly. This is where they can spot CP as soon as possible as well as any other defects from the traumatic birth. So, when Chase was 3 months old we went back for our 1st follow up visit. Everything was great. I had prayed, when Chase was at his very worst, that God would heal him above and beyond what man expected. I asked God to make him above average so he would not continually be labeled the "kid that was sick when he was born". Well, he was WELL above average in weight (90%) and all of his development was above average. They scheduled us to return in 3 months.

We returned when he was 6 months old and once again....he was well above average. This time we had to see the pediatric cardiologist. Because of Chase's oxygen issues and the fact that the path between his heart and lungs was not working correctly at birth, the left side of his heart had become enlarged. I never ever ever will forget what the dr. said after he examined Chase. He said, "If I had not been the one here to see this child when he was sick, I would NEVER have known he had been sick. Everything looks perfect!" In fact, they dismissed us from follow-ups since Chase showed NO signs of effects from his illness.

As most of you know, Chase is a healthy, happy, God loving, God serving 13 year old today. He knows what God did for him. He has even shared that at Bible School. He knows he was touched by the hand of God.

As bad as that time was we wouldn't change a thing. Sure I would have preferred not to have gone through it all, but the person I became because of it all is a better person. You see, I knew that God was the Great Physician, but I had never needed healing until then. God healed Chase and now I have 1st hand knowledge of Him as the Great Physician. So, as I have faced situations since that seemed impossible to man, I recalled who I knew God to be and claimed his promise in Matthew 21:22---"Whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."

As I said, Chase is a healthy 13 year old. He is involved in track this year at school. As he began conditioning for track he came down with some pretty severe shin splints. He came in one morning almost in tears over his shins. They were killing him. He was convinced the problem was more than shin splints when in fact that is what it was....shin splints. I remember saying to Glenn that evening as I recounted Chase's complaint, "Thank you God for shin splints." That translates to...I am so glad I have a 13 year old that can come into the kitchen and tell me his shins hurt. I am so glad that his is able to use his body normally. For 13 years earlier, I didn't even know if he was going to make a 30 minute helicopter flight.

Shin splints occur as the muscle in your shin is conditioned. If you do not properly stretch before running, you can develop shin splints. If you run on the wrong type of surface, you can develop shin splints. If you run in the wrong type of shoes, you can also develop shin splints. But all in all, shin splints occur when the muscle is being used in a way it is not accustomed to being used. Now that Chase has had proper training and conditioning, he does not suffer shin splints. Much like a runner experiences shin splints, I did as well in my spiritual life. Without that part of my life exercising my faith and endurance as a follower of Christ, I would not be conditioned for today. Now just like a runner can still experience shin splints a Christian can experience them as well. But it is in those moments of pain that we exercise and stretch our faith to overcome the pain. So, ........"Thank you God for Shin Splints".

The end.