To help me get through some of the hardest days, I have this scripture app on my phone that provides comfort and guidance whenever I need it. I’ve felt the urge to write for a few days now, and just before going to bed I looked at my phone, there it was—a verse waiting for me. Faith has become an incredibly important and central part of our everyday lives. I’m sure many people might be thinking that we are crazy at this point, given everything we’ve been through. How do you even begin to describe the last 50 days of our lives? When I reflect on these past days, words like craziness, exhaustion, blessings, and God come to mind immediately.

In our lives, coincidences simply don’t exist. We know, especially now more than ever, that every person we cross paths with is there for a specific purpose. It’s God’s plan, not mine. That truth has always been a hard pill to swallow for me. It still is. A personality trait often seen in addicts is the need for things to happen immediately and to unfold perfectly. While I’m not an addict, I share that same trait. I want all of “my people” to be in a good place—I want them to be happy and whole, free from chaos. If that’s not the case, I feel compelled to fix it, either alongside them or on their behalf. I suppose that’s how God views each of our lives too. He created us in His image with perfect plans for our lives. Even though I’m not happy about how things unraveled or how sin entered our world, I find comfort in knowing that I don’t have to live for a thousand years before I get to go to heaven. At 44, I honestly feel like I’m 440.

Okay, on to the good stuff. Friday ended as a catastrophe, consistent with the usual lack of communication that we unfortunately deal with quite often. But, on Saturday, Ricky was moved to another step-down unit. We’ll gladly take those step downs as often as we can, as they mark progress. After the big move, Ricky was utterly exhausted and slept quite a bit. We are very comfortable with the days he rests because rest brings healing and strength needed for recovery. On Sunday, Ricky was awake a lot more than usual, and Autumn was able to visit him for a little while. Before I came home for a few days, Skyline Church of God and Woodville Church of God prayed with us over the phone, offering comforting spiritual support.

In my opinion, the result of faith is watching my brother’s leg move during prayer. Seeing my ten-year-old’s eyes light up when she realized on her own that God is working and answering our prayers was deeply moving. As she witnessed Ricky’s upper leg move and his leg shift from side to side, that’s exactly what happened. Her eyes lit up with wonder, and the thankfulness she expressed to God was unimaginable. Faith to us now means believing that what the physicians said seven weeks ago was impossible is now happening, and we are seeing these remarkable signs. We are now spotting progress in swallowing, following people around the room with his eyes, turning his head, barely moving his right foot toes, raising his right knee, moving his entire left leg, raising his left leg, moving his toes forward, backward, in circles, and pushing with extreme strength with his left foot. All of these things, including a massive blood clot disappearing without the use of any pharmaceutical medications—only the medicine of faith and prayer—have been miraculous and we’ve been incredibly fortunate to witness.. He’s working inside my brother’s body and it’s noticed. I am so thankful that we worship a God who is in the miracle business, who we know can do things we have yet to see… in His time.

DeLisa is usually the one who posts about financial needs, but I want to share this as well: living away from home can be really expensive. Providing a place to stay for seven whole weeks has taken a toll on all of us financially. If you, or someone you know, happens to have any hotel points that you won’t be using, please consider sending them our way. Every little bit helps during this challenging time.

Now, it’s story time. Most of you know that mom is originally from Pennsylvania. She was the middle sister among five children, growing up in a close-knit family. Her oldest sister, my Aunt Sandy, is currently battling Alzheimer's disease; her older brother, my Uncle Roger, sadly passed away just last year due to health complications that arose from the sudden onset of Alzheimer’s. Thank God, my Uncle Robert and mom have been spared from this heartbreaking and devastating disease. Our grandmother and most of her sisters were also affected by Alzheimer’s. Not to mention, my husband has been diagnosed with Early Onset Dementia, which has made Alzheimer’s and Dementia research deeply personal and very close to our hearts. Our cousin in Pennsylvania, Nick Edder, is preparing to run a marathon in memory of our Uncle Roger. This effort means so much both to him and to all of us. If Uncle Roger were still here, he would be with us and walking alongside us every step of the way throughout this journey.

Nick recently wrote:

“ As many of you know, on November 23rd 2024, Alzheimer's Disease took away the most important man in my life, my Dad Roger Edder.

Alzheimer's runs in his side of the family. His Mother (my Grandma) passed away when I was much younger at the age of 81 and his oldest Sister (my Aunt Sandy) has fought with the disease for years. We knew when he started showing some memory loss & confusion that eventually we would be fighting the same battle. In the summer of 2024, in a matter of days, he went from the man we knew growing up (albeit sometimes confused) to not knowing who his kids were in a span of days. You see, growing up around the disease & having a medical background myself I assumed it would be a gradual progression. Instead it hit us like a ton of bricks when that all changed in a matter of days. The man we all knew to be the one to go to for help, who never stopped working or tinkering on something became the man that needed our help. He had trouble eating, fought with nursing staff and was a shell of the man we knew growing up. The rapid pace that things changed, ultimately leading to his passing in November made our heads spin.

When I saw the opportunity to run the New York City Marathon while raising money for a charity fighting a disease that has had such an impact on my family, I knew it was a cause worth fighting for.

You see, in September of 2021 weighing almost 400 pounds, I had bariatric weight loss surgery. That surgery has turned around my life. After losing around 200 pounds, I have completed more half marathons than I can count (13.1 miles), three full marathons (26.2 miles), two half Ironman triathlons (70.3 miles) and one full Ironman triathlon (140.6 miles). Dad was able to come to one of my half Ironman triathlons before things got bad. He was a runner in high school & the memory of him cheering for me as I approached the finish line is etched in my memory. Looking back, I didn't realize it at the time how much I would cherish that. The full Ironman triathlon was on November 17th 2024, just 6 days before he passed. We were in Tempe, AZ when he ended up in the hospital back in Pittsburgh. I struggled the days leading up to the race with guilt that I wasn't home to be there for him. Fortunately my family, friends & coaches all knew what I know now. Dad is proud of me and he would be with me the entire race. "Dad Knows" became my mantra that day. When things got tough during the 13 hours of the race, I would repeat "Dad Knows" to myself and felt a calm come over me. I returned from Arizona Tuesday November 19th, was able to spend time with him & be at Dad's side when he took his last breath. I know he is restored in heaven to the man we knew our whole lives and that he is with me every step of every race I do.

By participating in this event, I've committed to raising awareness and funds to advance the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer's Association.

Currently, more than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to grow to nearly 13 million by 2050. Our future is at risk and we must come together to change the course of this disease.”

If you can share his page linked here, we would appreciate it. If you can donate, that’s great also. Next up just may be a marathon for addiction recovery and stroke awareness.. or maybe, we’ll create a Ricky’s Journey, God’s Plan marathon.

Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

“Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.”

Day 48 -God is good, what else can I say?