12/8/2021 Update

12-8 Zac Update From Kristi:

It took my breath away.

In preparation of our departure from Craig Rehab, I was wrapping up a meeting with Zacs Case Manager yesterday, then heading over to the Peak Center to watch Zacs final therapy session. As I came around the corner, I almost ran into him, my son, standing a head taller than I, walking down the hallway in the Exoskeleton with a big grin on his face.

I had to catch my breath as my heart did a quick leap. For a moment, I was eye to eye with my son, as if this year had not even happened. I was grateful for the mask that covered my face as I hid behind it with silent emotion. I watched him as he worked to shift his weight from side to side, maximizing the flicker of muscles firing in his abs and glutes, which caused the exoskeleton to initiate a step. He was chatting happily as his therapist complimented him on how quickly he had picked up on how to move in the exoskeleton.

“It’s almost as if I was born to walk,” Zac said with a grin.

Walk. The word echoed in my head. Oh, please walk, my son.

“He is walking, Kristi,” the Lord checked my heart, reminding me that the greatest prayer I can pray for Zac is that he be filled with the knowledge of Jesus, that he would “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col 1:9-10)

Yes, Lord, he IS walking. And he IS bearing fruit. Between he and Everest, I watched them share the Gospel with several other patients and therapists while at Craig. They see his joy, but they do not understand it.

And I realize that fruit must be enough for now; yes, Lord, of course that it is MORE than enough, as I continue to silently intercede for his physical healing.

We’ve had a great time at Craig. In addition to the daily therapy, Zac and Everest were able to scuba dive, go to a shooting range, do archery, and play Quad Rugby with the Denver team….

Today we say goodbye to Denver as we are heading to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where Zac will undergo another INSCI test to see if there have been any neurological changes since his stem cell injection a month ago. I must continue to remember that it is God unfolding this story for Zac, that He leads the way and we follow Him, that I am not to “hope in what I see, but what I do not see.” (Rom. 8:25), that Zac is “Gods workmanship, created for good works that he should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10). Resting in the truth that God is the one to work out the details is what keeps us abiding in peace.

The flight just arrived in Minneapolis. It’s snowing!!