Abby update - December 14

Abby had another good day today. Her primary notable accomplishment was getting into our truck (no great challenge at all to her, but important for getting to go home!).

Otherwise, we just continue to see Abby blossom or "wake up" a little more each day. Gordon and I both have noticed that each morning as she wakes up and says good morning she seems a little bit more like our Abby. I was reminded of the Bible story that a couple of good friends shared with us in the early days of this ordeal. In the story of Jarius' daughter, Jesus is asked by Jarius to hurry to his home because his 12-year-old daughter is very sick. But along the way, Jesus gets delayed by other people who need his help and healing. I'm sure Jarius is panicking, but Jesus knows what he's doing, even when he arrives at Jarius' home and everyone is wailing because the little girl has died. Jesus tells them that she's not dead, but sleeping (and they laugh). Then he finally goes in to her and says "Talitha koum" ("Little girl, get up"), and she does. We know how Jarius must have felt--thinking that it was taking too long--but the good news is that now we're also knowing the joy of our beloved 12-year-old girl waking up and walking around. God has been working all this time, even when we were panicking.

Oh, yeah, and the end of the story is that Jesus told her family to give the little girl something to eat, so I must close with a special message to my Mississippi relatives that, believe it or not, there were actually turnip greens on Abby's plate yesterday, and she ate them. I think we can expect some real miracles to start happening now, even if she did only agree to swallow a spoonful or two... ;-)

With patience and gratitude,
Talitha Linam's family