In the hospital?  What?  I just saw him yesterday! Is he okay?  What's going on with your husband?  Is he sick?  How bad is it? All of these were common questions just a few days ago.  He seemed great one day, yet the next he was completely down.  Let me say first of all, my husband is the best faker I have ever met.  I thought I had friends who were good fakers- and they were... but I've never seen someone work so hard at faking in my life.  He is my hero. 

Daniel has a colon condition called ulcerative colitis. It's hard to explain, but each year around spring time for the past 4 years, he has had a difficult time with his health.  Most the time in college, he was able to fake it with hardly anyone knowing what was going on.  This time we thought he could fake it, but he unfortunately took a turn for the worse.  He struggled for about 6 days before I took him to be admitted to the hospital.  Without going into too many details, during those 6 days he didn't eat at all, and we were struggling to get liquids or keep liquids in him. 

These few days were extremely difficult for me.  Being newly-wed, this was my first real encounter with nursing a severe illness.  It was discouraging, because he wasn't getting any better, and I was doing everything I could to make him better.  You know, I praise God for that time.  Because it is in the hard times, that God gets extremely close. It's in those times when you HAVE to go before God in tears, begging him to heal your husband, that God makes himself known to you.  I wouldn't trade that closeness for the world.

My husbands attitude, through this whole time, has been remarkable.  When you're dating, I think it's impossible to tell how a person would react when trials hit.  (Unless, obviously, the trials come while you're dating.)  Dan did not necessarily have huge trials in college, so I didn't exactly know what to expect.  I could not be more proud of the character of the man I married.  I don't think I've heard him complaining once.  His attitude has been, "If God wants to take it away from me, I know He will.  Until He takes it away, I'll pick up my cross and follow my King." Watching him suffer, yet have a phenomenal attitude has challenged my own personal walk and challenged me immensely. 

We're home from the hospital, and God let me husband be ordained Wednesday.  It was a special time, and I feel God gave him a special grace and healing to be there. We are blessed.  Although he's home, he hasn't been cured.  We're still praying about which medications to use and where to go from here; but for today, we're glad to be back to real life~ enjoying the journey!