Everlasting Love

We were absolutely thrilled to finally find a "bucket" swing in this city so that
Moriah can have an opportunity to swing on her own! Here she is getting some
help from her big sisters! This was taken the week before Annalise got sick.

As I write, Verity is making a card with her new Valentine stickers sent in the mail from her grandparents, Moriah is practicing her walking (and grabbing-everything-within-reach) skills, and Annalise is convalescing in her bed, with a 104 fever (or least that's what my Vicks ear thermometer tells me).

Actually, it has now been 5 days since Annalise first came down with a high fever. On Day 2, we took her into a clinic to see a doctor. He said she has the influenza virus and may not shake it for 10-14 days and prescribed some medicine. Maybe some of our blog readers with a medical background can offer some more advice?

In the meantime, it has been a team effort trying to help Annalise feel better. David has made homemade popsicles non-stop (one of the only things Annalise will eat ... that and rice wrapped in seaweed), Verity has been so helpful fetching anything I've needed while I hold Annalise in my lap, Annalise has watched our Go Diego Go and Anne of Green Gables DVDs a few times (since all she's wanted to do is sleep or watch a DVD), I have been up every night with our little patient (giving her whatever she needs - medicine, water, a cold rag, etc) and Moriah has ... well, Moriah is just focused on perfecting that grabbing-everything-within-reach skill.

The sleepless nights have been draining but like any parent, I don't hesitate to go to her when she calls out at night because we love her so much! It blows my mind to think how much more God loves and cares for us.

As Valentine's Day approaches, our desire has been to help the girls focus on God's love (their memory verse for this month is Romans 5:8). Something else I have read this past year has really stuck with me. It was written in a newsletter by Ronnie & Jane Stevens in Hungary (who was David's pastor in Moscow & then our pastor in Memphis before they moved overseas). Everything in italics is taken from the newsletter:

I was reading a newsletter from a friend in England. He quoted Geerhardus Vos, who taught at Princeton Seminary for 40 years. Professor Vos was remarking upon Jeremiah 31:3, "Behold, I have loved you with an everlasting love." He declared that "everlasting" means time backward (eternity past) as well as time forward (eternity future). "One reason I know that God will never stop loving me is because He never began." Striking thought that. God's love for us is always - backward as well as forward.

We hope that each of you wil relish in this love mentioned in Jeremiah 31:3. He is our Perfect Parent and cares deeply about every one of us. Happy (early) Valentine's Day! (And if you think of it, please pray for our Annalise to feel better soon!)