I think that something good must be about to happen. The past week has been a very difficult week. I found myself in a few spots where all I could do is trust my Lord. But, He has been faithful and has given me so many things to rejoice about.

First, I rejoice in sharing that the difficult situation I found myself in this week has opened my eyes to many things about myself. By God's grace, I trust I grow and I praise Him for resolving it.

On Friday, Marks' knee surgery went very well. There were a few unexpected things that made the after surgery pain a little more then usual, but we are trusting that the pain he was in before surgery will have been reduced greatly. He did wonderful and is recovering well.

As I pulled into my in-laws to pick up the kids, I recieved a phone call from Emily. It's not one of the type of calls that you want to recieve when you are 8 hours away and can not hold your little girl. SHe was beginning to have some fears about her health and was experiencing some symptoms that made her very nervous. They made me nervous as well. It is hard to be so far away and not be able to see her. We went through the weekend, convinced that some of these things are a result of the physical demands she had put her body through since arriving at college.

Then came yesterday! At 9:30 I recieved another "one-of-those-calls". It's one of those calls that you want to put the phone down and jump in the car so that you can comfort your baby. She was very, very scared. Her question was whether her friends should take her to the ER or not due to some of those very issues she shared with me on Friday. Well... it is very hard to evaluate over the phone. She had already been planning to see the nurse at 11:00, so I asked her if she could wait. Her friends seemed to feel that this was more urgent and she was scsred. I tried to get them to locate her dorm mom; but they knew she was in chapel and they didn't want to bother her. I called the nurses office and an admission counselor but got no answer. I then called my doctor who told me she should go to the ER. We got it all figured out. I told them they had to let her dorm mom know so that they did not get into any kind of trouble (2 kids missing school to take my daughter to an ER and I already felt as if the dorm mom was judging us as "over-reactors", so I didn't want Em to be recieving some critical judgement and have to deal with that). They said they would, but they were unable to and they just took her. On the way to the ER, they got ahold of the dorm mom who told them that she wished they would have seen an EMT on campus. At this point, I get a little frustrated. I think the dorm mom was a little out of line. I told Em she was the only one who knows how bad she was feeling. If she felt ok, maybe they should turn around and have an EMT look at her so that the dorm mom did not get angry with them. So, they did. This is where I get even angrier. I allowed the reaction of a dorm mom to control me. I encouraged them to go back because this person (who I highly respect and admired) had seemed frustrated with me when I had called her Friday and Saturday about Emily's health. I emailed her Saturday and Monday and still had not heard anything. I am sure that the mom was totally just for not responding to me and for saying what she did to the kids, but I felt intimidated and as if I was over-reacting to symptoms that I honestly should be concerned for (especially since I am 8 hours from my daughter and unable to see for myself!). So the kids turned around, took Em to see an EMT and ended up waiting over a 1/2 hour and saw a nurse who took her vitals and told her to go to the ER. By this time, Emily was scared to death and really struggling with it. I still am having some problem coming to grips with how this situation was handled. Em spent the day at the hosptial, had bloodwork and a CAT scan. She was there for over 6 hours and not once did anyone from the college check on her. This afternoon, I checked to see if the dorm mom had said anything and found out that she hadn't even checked in on her. And I still have not recieved a response to my 2 emails or a call to tell me how my daughter is doing.

It surprises me. I can't say that I have figured out if the way she handled it was right or wrong; but I do know I am surprised and very disappointed. It saddens me that Em was so scared and there wasn't an adult from the college who checked on her. She had two very INCREDIBLE friends with her the entire time. Bless their hearts! They did not leave her side. Unfortunately, Emily is only 18 and really has no clue what to ask a doctor or even how to ask the right questions. It would have been nice to have someone (maybe the nurse?!) checking things out and filling me in!

I praise God that Em is feeling better today and that it appears that her Cat Scan did not show anything. I really needed someone to be there for her to ask the right questions and make sure that the information was sent to the appropriate people.

To share a very neat story with you, Emily came home from the hospital (after a very long physically and emotionally draining event) and walked into her room with a gift from us. It was an amazing "God thing". This weekend, I met the Pastor and his wife who are candidating for the Senior Pastor position at our church. We have been without a shepherd far too long and we are aching for someone to lead us. I met them at my son's soccer game. God is funny how He intervenes in our life. Their nephew is on my son's soccer team. I am good friends with his mother. She introduced me to them. In the course of the conversation, she shared with them about EMily being at BBC. Well.... believe it or not, they live 15 minutes from the campus. They immediately offered to take a care package to Emily. I was blown away. It never ceases to amaze me God's timing. Well, I shared with them the phone call I had reacieved from Emily and they instantly offered to take her for her MRI or any appointments she would have, to check in on her, to hold her hand, whatever I needed. I was so blessed. It was just what a mother's heart needed to hear. And as soon as they arrived in Clarks Summit, they delivered her package... in time for her to get it when she got home.

So... I rejoice. And I know that if Emily needs an adult with her, all I have to do is call and my new friend will be right there. In fact, I just got a message on my cell phone from the her telling me that she had called Emily and tried to check on her but couldn't reach her... and that she will call her again tomorrow. God is so faithful!