That’s right! You read it correctly. Josiah is home tonight, sleeping soundly in his bunk bed with his younger brother Levi. God again, showed up in a powerful way.

Let’s talk about family. I wish I would have recorded Josiah opening the front door to our home and Levi running full throttle to greet him. You just heard a shout, “Josiah!” and Levi almost tackling him down to the floor with a bear hug.

Before Josiah left, he promised Levi he would get him a toy from the gift shop if he was good. Of course the gift shop was closed due to the pandemic so there wasn’t a toy to bring home. Josiah looked at Levi and apologetically told him he couldn’t get his brother the toy that he promised. Levi looked up at him, teared up, and said, “Josiah, you being home is even better” and they hugged again. I was n awe!

That moment will forever be stitched into my memory. Tonight I had Josiah and Levi cut Josiah’s medical bands and used it to remind them that no matter what, they could always cut through their problems together with God in the center. I attempted to make it a lesson, but then it got dangerous with the scissors!

Thank you. Thank you for your faith, your encouragement, and your faithfulness to pray for Josiah to be released from his hospital room. Cystic Fibrosis didn’t win in our home tonight. Continue to pray for the other kids that did not get released tonight and doing breathing treatments in their hospital rooms as you read this blog. This is such a dangerous and lonely disease.

So Josiah is going to the hospital for a two week stay tomorrow…again. So let’s be transparent and hopefully you’ll get where I’m coming from!

First the flesh (churchy word for the selfish) side: Really God? Quarantined for three months and now this, and it’s not even Coronavirus related?! Josiah is scared and I wish I could do it for him. I hate this lonely disease that has my kids held hostage. Have to figure logistics again. Dinners. Lunches. Who’s where. Keep work straight. Keep Levi from being scared because he can’t see his bro due to hospital restrictions (1 parent at a time and that’s it). We already have so much happening!

Now the “Daddy Has This” side: Really Robbie? You have heard God’s voice. You have seen heaven. You have seen His power physically beat demons that have come after you and your family. You have seen God protect Josiah from day one. God has been with Josiah since the beginning: since the diagnosis, since the NICU, since the nebulizers, since the vests, since the hundreds of clinics/labs/meetings, since the first, second, third, and fourth tuneups, since the insurance battles, since the pandemic…….again, since the beginning. The voice of truth says that He will be with Josiah again! Every time we hit a crisis mode with CF, Josiah has walked away stronger, our family’s faith has grown deeper, and our witness has gotten louder. God has this!

So bottom line: it’s not fun admitting Josiah tomorrow. We are stressed and tired…but excited with what the future holds. If we have to do this, let’s do this now. God has a plan and I’m already declaring victory. God brought the song “Rattle” to my mind with the launch of our community center last month, and the same song has been echoing in my spirit all day today. God is going to take this opportunity to breathe life into our family even more and cause these dry bones to rattle again! I get pumped just humming the song!

Lastly, this scripture came to my mind when I got frustrated when the doctor told us his diagnosis today. I was hoping for a peaceful scripture, but God was like, no…you need this one. The backdrop: the Israelites got frustrated with their situation after being freed from slavery, and had a negative mindset even though God was sustaining them. I’m not going to let that happen in my spirit in the next two weeks! If you are getting frustrated with your short term situation, learn what not to do:

“The riffraff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna.””

Numbers 11:4-6 MSG

If you are eating mana right now, know that God is in the mana. Our hospital stay is mana, and it’s from God. Look towards heaven with a grateful heart through the mana times, and watch God do even more!

More miracles to come!