Southbound Train

It's the guest post you've all been waiting for! Amanda is taking a break from the blog to allow her husband to fill you all in and give a few thoughts of my own.

We are finally rooming in! We are spending one more night in the hospital and then going home sometime tomorrow morning. Sarah is in the room with us without any monitors or restrictions through the night. This is the last piece of the transition and is as much for us as it is for her. This is the time to make sure we know how to care for Sarah on our own throughout the night. It's hard to believe that Sarah has been here just over 6 weeks and we are finally getting our first night together.

These past days and weeks have been a bittersweet journey of the joy of Sarah's arrival and the pangs constant separation. A couple times a day and every single night we've had to leave our precious baby girl in a plastic cage and in the care of strangers. Don't get me wrong, we've been so blessed to have the wonderful care we've had and this period of transition has certainly had hidden blessings of its own, but nothing has been able keep the pain of going to bed every night not being under the same roof as our struggling child. We've heard the "Just imagine that she's still just not been born yet" line a lot, and that's true. However, when Amanda was still pregnant, while we couldn't hold Sarah, we could see the results of her presence; we know she was healthy and growing. Even though we couldn't hold her or know exactly how she was doing, at least we knew she was close and in our care. To lay there with no baby in the belly and nobody else in the house every night was devastating.

All that to say, God has provided through it all. He's brought blessings out of this trying time beyond what we could have hoped for. We've certainly grown closer to God, to each other, and to our amazing family and friends. We are incredibly excited to finally be bringing her home. We've been crying out for the day when we'd be able to go home with our healthy baby girl. Now that glorious day will rise with the dawn and we wish to give credit where credit is due. The following passage has been weighing on my heart lately:

¹² Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah.^[a] He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” (1 Samuel 7:12, NLT)


We may not have a towering stone to stand upon a hill, but we have Sarah and our own lives to live in constant testament to the unceasing joy and unending grace of our Creator. It is our hope and prayer that, as a family, we may use our times of trial, failure, and prosperity to learn, grown, and share in all the love that has come before and all the hopes and promises that go ahead.


I'll leave you back in Amanda's capable hands from now on. We'll be sure to update and let you all know how Sarah is settling in at home. Thank you all for your many gifts, thoughts, and prayers!
~Jim