Something from Nick's family's blog

Remember I said they have a deep faith? This is what Nick's older brother wrote earlier today on the website St. Jude sets up for them.... It is amazing to me that they are able to do this...

MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2006 01:46 PM, CDT
Joy from the Frontline of the Battle
Josh Avery, Guest Writer
I was online today, looking through some websites and different things, and I found the following quote. I'll let you read it before I go on with the rest of what I'm going to write today.
"Though a famine of true Christianity stalks the land, though everything seems to be gone, we can rejoice in God. Though circumstances reach their lowest ebb, and things seem to be so out of kilter to the way that we think they should go, we can have joy because He has promised to save us—and He will. He has assured us many times, 'Just endure this period of trial. Trust in Me.' "
Today I feel that what was said above is true. Although things have taken on their own path, one that we could have never predicted, we know that the promise of God grows near- and from that I find joy. It's hard to have joy, to feel any sort of happy feeling towards the situation.
Right now, Nick is in the same condition that he was when my aunt Jill wrote last night. His cat scans came back this morning, and it seems as they are similar to yesterday's. (Yesterday's were a definite improvement from the first night.) He's still under heavy sedatives, and so he hasn't woken up yet since the operation. This is a good thing, because he's on a breathing machine at the moment and wouldn't be comfortable with all of that if he were awake.
I have spent two days now sitting in the waiting room of a hospital, seeing that Nick's condition has been stable, yet consistent. When you see no change and no huge positive changes for a 24 hour period, joy is hard to find. There is alot of waiting being done here- at the frontline of the battle.
And it is a battle. Many of us are focusing now on the negatives- the pain, the sadness, the anxiousness of waiting to hear more news about Nick's condition. However, through all of these things, we often forget one important truth...
The battle has been won. If God has promised something, He will deliver His promise. He will never change his mind. I've heard it said this way: that "oops" is not in God's vocabulary. None of this is a surprise to Him, and none of this changes His plan. His plan is still there, His promise still shining through the darkness and confusion like a lighthouse.
So where do we find joy? We find it in knowing that God has a plan. God has a promise. He understands our human nature to be anxious about Nick's condition. He understands that we're going to worry about him because of our love for him. God understands our pain. But don't forget that God is whispering something else- something you may need to strive past the fear and doubt to hear. God is saying "'Just endure this period of trial.... Trust in Me."
All this being said, I ask you to join me. I ask all of you, all of my fellow members of the Circle, to join me in accepting that promise despite our doubts. The doctors say that Nick will be in a critical condition for at least another 24 hours- possibly more depending on his rate of recovery. So I stand today, now, asking all of you who are bold to stand beside me... I stand and walk to the throne of God and ask for deliverance. In these next 24 hours, I will be fasting and passing up all meals- praying for these things. If you want to join me, please do so. Instead of eating- pray at those times that you would.
Prayer is said to be the most mighty weapon of all. I ask you to join me in this, so that God hears the cry of his people. Time to go on the offensive. I'll be back in 24 hours to report from the frontline.
Never Break the Circle.
Dive Deep.
-Josh