Ten Years Ago...

March 31st, 2000: Chuck and I had our first date at Anthony's Steakhouse! His brother, Daniel, set it up for Chuck to be my date for the spring banquet at Grace U. I had been battling an ongoing sickness for months and had gotten no answers from the tests the doctors had been doing. I was not feeling well that night, but we still had a good time. Chuck and I went as friends and had no intentions of dating each other---little did we know that God had other plans :-)

April 1st, 2000: I was admitted to the hospital via the ER and tipped the scale at 94 lbs.! I WAS SICK! After 30 days in the hospital, stomach surgery, feeding tubes, constant IV's, bone marrow tests, too many doctors and a number of other unpleasant events--I was sent home for 24/7 care. My parents took me to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN in July and I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.

Throughout my ordeal, Chuck's brother kept him updated on my situation and occasionally Chuck and I talked on the phone but that was it. We went out to eat together a couple more times and to speed this story up--Chuck and I started dating in January 2002, got engaged in April 2002 (the night before another planned trip to Mayo Clinic) and were married March 2003!

Why do I tell you all of that? Because I layed in bed last night thinking about all that the Lord has done in my life since March 31st, 2000 and just wanted to share it with you. Many of you were there during that long journey of sickness and there are too many people to list that prayed, encouraged and helped during that time!

Not only did God bring a wonderful man into my life, but He has brought me a long way in my journey of life with Crohn's Disease! God knew exactly what I needed in a husband! Chuck has provided for me, prayed for/with me, taken care of me, spent many hours in the ER with me and numerous nights on a hospital couch when I was dealing with a flare up. Needless to say, our first years of marriage revolved a lot around my sickness.

And here we are 10 years later and God has been so good to us! When I started an IV treatment (Remicade) for my Crohn's Disease, I needed the medicine by IV every 30 days and now I only need it 4 times a year! Wow! The Lord has blessed us with 2 beautiful boys--something that we thought wasn't going to be possible in the beginning of this journey! My heart is in awe of the abundant blessings from the Lord!

As Easter approaches, I am reminded of this verse:

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds WE ARE HEALED." Isaiah 53:5

Thank you Lord for the work you have done in the past 10 years and for your promises still to come...