Category: Uncategorized

5 Minutes 

by C.C. Hasty, posted in Blessed, God Is Good, Prayer, Uncategorized, Wheelchair

I have moaned and groaned about not being able to work. It is definitely an adjustment becoming a stay-at-home mom again, especially when the choice was made for you instead of by you. But lately, God has been reminding me that it is what you choose to do with your time, however it is given, that truly matters. Instead of whining about what I should or could be doing, I should take the time I’m given and use it the best way that I can. 

I believe God is using this time to teach me to slow down, and to enjoy the little moments. I have always been the overachiever. All about time management and being productive. In reality, I was just running away from fears and doubts. It’s hard for God to find you when you are going full speed ahead, all the while complaining about how busy you are and all that has to get done. Yet, we allow ourselves to be so busy we forget to make time to spend with our creator. We are so busy living and complaining about being busy that God ends up on the bottom of our to-do-list, or not on it at all. 

After the wreck, everything came into such clear perception in my life. Nothing mattered in that moment except that my children live. Every fear I had ever had became nothing in comparison. I wanted the moments back where my kids got on my ever living nerves. Y’all know what I’m talking about! I wanted to see a dirty bedroom. I wanted to hear them arguing. I didn’t care if the bills were paid. I just wanted to my crazy busy life back. It is easy to get busy living life that we forget to actually live. Every day feels like the same repeat from the ones before. 

There is one simple way to start living again. Only one solution to this problem. Include God in your day. Even for 5 minutes. Give Him those minutes so that He can remind you HOW to live again, as He has reminded me. I would love to say that after the accident I gained a lasting knowledge of not taking my time for granted. But I am human, and no matter how hard are lessons in life are, sometimes God has to give us gentle reminders to not take the time He has given us for granted. He loves us enough to forgive us and welcome us back into His embrace. 

Love and blessings, 

C.C. 

God is Good Enough 

by C.C. Hasty, posted in Blessed, God Is Good, Heaven, Mom, Prayer, Uncategorized, Wheelchair

Yesterday we were at the point of taking Jackson back to Vanderbilt. He literally could not stop coughing. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and was afraid his had turned into one too. Seems like no biggie, but Jackson’s lungs are comprised due to his spinal cord injury. A sinus infection and congestion can quickly lead to pneumonia. 

Lately, God has reminded me of the faith I used to have. Some of you are thinking, “Used to have?” You see, I believe in laying hands on the sick. I believe in speaking in tongues. I believe in angels and demons. I believe in dancing and shouting and praising a God that has Saved me. Some call it Pentecostal. Some may even call it crazy. Somehow along the way I lost it. It’s not that I stopped believing, I just lost my fire for God. Let’s be honest, we all lose our way at different moments in our lives. Something happens and we pull back from God, even without realizing it. It can be something traumatic, like losing someone you loved. Or something simple as being busy in your day to day life. 

So last night as I was desperate for Jackson to feel better, I immediately thought, “I need to ask our friends on Facebook to pray for him.” And God said, “You do it.” But….. it takes lots of prayers! Not just my prayer. It takes an army of prayer warriors. I am a simple mom. My faith isn’t enough. “Yes, it is.” Don’t you love how we sometimes argue with God? Cause surely I am not the only one who does this, right?!? 

So I did what God told me to do, I laid my hands on him and prayed aloud for his healing. I felt God move through me. Even then I didn’t believe that Jackson would be healed. Not that I don’t believe in God, or His miraculous healing. I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t believe that my faith was strong enough. That I was good enough for God to use. But God only needs the faith of a mustard seed. 

I’m sure you all know where this is going. Jackson WAS healed. And not later. Not the next morning. IMMEDIATELY. This baby had coughed every single minute for two days straight. He coughed the entire time I was praying for him. The minute my hands left his body, he stopped. He has not coughed a single time since. 

God had to make me see that yes, I am good enough. I am more than enough. I am His child. My faith, even when it feels small and helpless, is enough, because it isn’t me that has the power to do anything. I never did and never will. It is Him. And as long as we believe in Him, He can and will do amazing things through us. We just have to step out in faith and let Him take the lead. 

Love and blessings, 

C.C. 

Another Monkey Gone

by C.C. Hasty, posted in Blessed, God Is Good, Mom, Uncategorized, Wheelchair

We made it through surgery without a hitch, although this time was harder for him. Before, one moment he was watching his brother Joshua play a game on his iPad in the backseat of his brothers car, the next he was in the hospital at the mercy of doctors and parents making decisions for him. He didn’t have a choice. He didn’t have advance notice or time to be afraid.

 Every day before his surgery he would look at me once a day and simply say, “Monday.” That was his way of letting me know he was scared. Jackson is such a brave kid. I sometimes forget that he is only seven with a normal kids fears. As we arrived for pre-op his little body started to shake. His father and I both wanted to load him up in the truck and take off. But we knew we couldn’t. I was able to calm him down by crawling in the bed with him and playing games on his iPad. My philosophy has always been to keep yourself busy so that you don’t have time to dwell on the bad. So that’s what we did. 

10 minutes before surgery they brought him the “happy” medicine. He was all grins and giggles then. Not a care in the world. The hard part then started for us parents. The waiting….. When your child is in surgery, even if it is considered routine or minor, every second feels like a hundred. This surgery wasn’t considered minor. He had an incisional hernia repaired. There was danger that his bowels could be injured, and in Jacksons case, he only has half of his bowels left from the damage caused by the seatbelt during the accident. 

When the phone finally rings your heart skips several beats. Is it good news? Bad? Hurry up and answer already!! And if you’re not the one taking the call it’s pure torture. You try reading facial expressions to gauge their reaction. Listen to voice inflections. Anything to determine what the listener is hearing. Time stands still. In this case, the news was great. Jackson did well during surgery and was in recovery waking up!

The entire day I didn’t feel well but thought it was anxiety and lack of sleep. By the time his surgery was over, there was no doubt that it was more than anxiousness. I was running a fever. We discussed if I should stay or go and decided that at that point I had already exposed Jackson (remember me crawling into bed with him during pre-op). By that evening my husband was running a fever and by the next morning Jackson was too. Jacob didn’t feel well Sunday evening and had unknowingly given us all the flu. Wonderful, right????? Sometimes I wonder why things have to be so difficult for us. Surgery was enough to deal with, but now poor Jackson had to deal with having the flu on top of recovering from surgery. 

The difference between moms and dads: when moms and the kids are sick at the same time, we still take care of everything. When dads get sick, they can sleep through a nuclear war. So by the end of the week it is no surprise that everyone else is on the mend and I am still sick. That’s just the way it is for us moms. No one ever thinks to take care of us too.

This surgery was a monkey on our back. Now it is done and over with. At some point Jackson may have to have another hernia repaired but the doctor thinks it will be a long time if ever. He will also have to have spinal surgery to put more rods in his back to combat the Scoroliosis. Again, this will hopefully be after his bones have fully matured and several  years down the road. For now, Jackson can live life without having this surgery looming over him. We are thankful for that. We are looking forward to him healing and being able to swim this summer. 

Did I mention that this kid missed half the school year and still made an A and C on his report card?!? This kid rocks!!!

Love and blessings, 

C.C.