'Tis grace...

When the nurses last night removed the restraints on Nathan's arms (to turn him in bed), he yanked those hated tubes from his nose. Happily, the doctor said that if he begins eating on his own, he can get along without the tubes in his nose. So...

Today's greatest feat was (drum roll, please)... drinking chocolate milk through a straw. (It took Nathan two attempts to pull it off. I never realized just how much strength is required!)

Today's most frustrating feat was... Nathan's making a genuinely valiant effort to write us a message... only to discover, to our mutual frustration, that we had difficulty deciphering what he'd written.

T0day's happiest moment was... seeing Nathan's big smile as Josie put an earphone in his ear so he could hear a familiar song: "Don't Wake Me; I Plan on Sleeping."

Today's saddest moment was... hearing Nathan say, "I wanna go home." And when we began to explain that there is no way he can leave the hospital now... to hear him add, with tears in his eyes, "Please." That was some sort of low point.

More than one doctor and nurse have told us how "very lucky" Nathan is (whenever the condition of his brain comes up). They don't need to elaborate; I know it is a miracle that he survived and that he is coherent and can communicate. But I prefer to call it "grace." So I conclude tonight's blog with a couple of lines, not of Scripture, but of the hymn that both describes Nathan's experience and commemorates our Father's amazing grace:

"Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come,
'tis grace hath led me safe thus fare, and grace will led me home."