Beginning of the Week Prayer Requests

Pierce is stable today. I believe this is day 20, so we have about 11 more days until we hit the crucial month mark. We have been carried thus far by the grace of God and we praise Him for that. We were told last night by Pierce's primary night nurse Laura, that he has cleared a lot of hurdles. There is still a long way to go (If all goes well, he will get out around his original due date which was August 4th), but we are confident Pierce will keep pressing through as he has been. There are so many things that we could sit around and worry about but we really haven't been fretting. We continue to have a strong confidence and peace from God. One area that God has used this situation to sanctify us in is the area of worry or anxiety. It is so foolish and prideful to sit around paralyzed by anxiety over things that we can't and don't have control over. Situations like this one force us to experience the joy of casting our anxieties on God because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). The best perspective on anxiety came from the Lord Jesus Himself, when He said "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6:27) Anxiety not only displays pride, unfaithfulness, and a foolish desire to prolong life or make it fit to our ideal; it has been scientifically proven to in fact cause numerous medical problems. I am sure times of anxiety will come for us over the next few months, but I pray that we can remember to cast them on the One who has been more than faithful in this journey thus far.

This week, we are going to attempt to sleep at home every night. We are going to try and establish a schedule that will have us visiting the hospital twice a day. We need your prayers in getting adjusted to this schedule. We need endurance and a peace as we will be daily leaving our son at the hospital. This week, we are also going to try and start addressing all the other things that come with life. In addition to bills, work, etc., this week I am going to attempt to take an exam, read a few books, write a paper, and study for a couple more exams that I have next week. Pray that I will have the time and frame of mind to get this stuff knocked out and be finished with school by the end of May/early June. Pray that Lindsay will continue to heal from the c-section and that God's presence overwhelms her in this difficult time.

For Fierce Pierce (our friend Christy gave him this nickname), he needs your continued prayers for health. What will be the two biggest issues for sometime are his lungs and his intestines/bowels. Pray that his lungs grow stronger quickly and that he can come off the ventilation machines sooner than expected. Also pray that his intestines/bowels mature and grow strong without getting infected or perforated. The intestines and bowels are probably the most serious concern right now. If they get infected it can really effect Pierce's morbidity and become severely life threatening. And if they get perforated the chance of mortality is high. Nevertheless, we a strong confidence that the Lord is with Pierce and will sustain him throughout this trial. Also, continue to pray for his brain bleeds. Pierce's ventricles did not swell at all as of the last ultrasound and we praise God for that! The doctors told us to expect them to be more swollen. We pray that that next Monday's ultrasound will show the same or even better, that the swelling will have actually receded on its own. Pierce's whole body still needs healing and strength, so please keep praying. God is bringing glory to His name through our little man as only He can. A 1 1/2 pound baby in a 4-month NICU stay isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when we think of glory and power. "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

We will try to snag some updated pictures of Pierce today and post them later tonight.


We love and thank you all,



Nik, Lindsay, and Pierce