Why I “Count it all Joy” Wednesday

Welcome to Why I Count It All Joy Wednesday!! To join in on all the JOY, grab my button, make your own JOY list, it doesn’t have to be long, one thing, one hundred things, it doesn’t matter, just find your JOY and come back and link up so you can share it with us.  Remember JOY is contagious!!  

I usually try to keep my JOY posts short and light, but I posted this late in the day Tuesday and then decided to repost it for my JOY post!!!  I can't think of too many things more joyful than miracles!!

Four years ago today, my life changed!!  The Lord blessed me with a precious granddaughter!!  I had no idea what I was in for, but I was so excited!!  I had no idea  she would steal my heart like she has!!  I had no idea she would love me like she does!!  

It all started out rough!!  She was sick when she was born and had way too many machines hooked up to her!!  It just broke my heart.  I remember standing at that nursery window, praying and crying like never before!!  Begging Jesus for a miracle, her little body needed healing and I knew the man for the job!!  In no time, she was well and able to go home.

Lindsey could only touch her feet!!  Talk about breaking your heart!!

We finally got to cuddle her!!

Finally going home!!

Little did we know that two months later, we would be taking an ambulance ride back to the hospital.  The diagnosis - seizures.  What caused them, no one knew!!  The doctors couldn’t explain it.  The ran every test imaginable, poked her over and over, and in a Nanny’s mind just plain tortured her.  We spent her first Christmas in the hospital, but that didn’t stop us from having fun, loving each other, and praying and believing for another miracle.  Eventually we got to take her home again, but she continued to have unexplained seizures.  Month after month, doctor appointment after doctor appointment, test after test, specialist after specialist, and still seizures with no answers.  

Her entire head was covered with wires!!

Too many tubes, wires, and machines!!

Ella’s first Christmas!!

After a year of this, we took her to a specialist in Dallas at the Children’s Hospital and he finally gave us a diagnosis.  Not what we wanted to hear, but it sure could have been worse.  He said there was no cure for what she had and that she would probably get progressively get worse as she aged.  But that it could be treated and maintained, so to speak.  They wanted to do more testing, but the doctor was sure the diagnosis was correct.  We all agreed we would wait on another seizure episode to start the new testing, which wasn’t going to be fun.  

Ella’s 1!!

We came home and prayed for another miracle.  We loved on her, played with her, cuddled her every chance we got!!  And we continued to pray for a miracle.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.  Isaiah 53:5

What JOY!!

Today Ella turned 4 years old, and she is healed!!  She has been seizure free for 2 years.  She never had those horrible tests because after we left Dallas, she never had another seizure episode!!  You would never be able to tell she was ever sick!!  Just like I said in the beginning, we knew the Man for the job and boy did He show up in a big way for Ella!!  

Thank you Jesus for her precious life!!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful grandbaby girl!!  Nanny loves you tons!!

Counting it all JOY!!