"Stronger is He..."

Things with Milkanu have been very slowly getting better. He has made a lot of progress. But as I was saying the other day to my sis-in-law Denise, "Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst". This past week we had three good days in a row, and then--BAM! Thursday morning started out very good, but in a blink it turned bad. Really bad. Ugly. Complete meltdown with hitting, scratching, kicking, and (attempted) biting involved. I literally had to have Taylor--my 14-yr.-old daughter--help me hold his hands down so I could ziptie his carseat straps together for safety. He has been known to undo his straps and stand up in the car in defiance when he is really mad. What set him off this time? I won't go into great detail or I'll never get through writing this blog, but basically it was because he wanted to keep playing with his ball and we needed to leave for school. Since he wouldn't budge on his own accord, I had to half-carry, half-drag him down the stairs, out the door, and into the car. I didn't want Taylor to be late for school nor for him to be late for his therapy appointment that morning. Once I finally got him secured, the doors and windows locked (he was opening everything), we made it out the garage and down the road. Even though Taylor had her front seat all the way forward, he was able to kick the back of the seat as hard as he could. He found Taylor's journal and ripped several pages out of it before I was able to get it away from him. He took off his shoes and was going to hurl them full force at me, but, praise the Lord, he resisted. Then he screamed at the top of his lungs and told me he didn't love me, etc., etc. By now, I'm used to that and don't take offense to it. Boy, we must have looked a sight driving down the road with a child flailing in full rage in the backseat...

Here is the most important part of the story, though. I am completely convinced this was a spiritual battle more than it was a physical and emotional one. We were just beginning an important therapy for Milkanu's healing called EMDR (google "EMDR with children" to get an idea what it is), and I knew that Thursday's appointment with the therapist (Melissa) was very important. The night before I had asked several people to please be praying for Milkanu and the therapy appointment. Then Thursday morning came and we had all those problems "out of the blue". I was shaking and upset in the car with my screaming child, but I was able to remain calm with him--even while I was being hit in the arm very hard and scratched with his nails. But as I was driving I felt a swelling of righteous anger within me and I said aloud to Taylor, "This is a spiritual attack, and Satan will NOT get my child. He is a child of God. He (Satan) WILL NOT WIN. He has NO power over my child. Just pray." Taylor and I were both getting emotional at this point and M began to calm down almost immediately after I said those words aloud. I also called Brian to let him know what was going on and asked him to pray for us. Amazingly, Taylor just barely made it to school on time. She later told me that as she rushed to class she had run into the principal (and administrative pastor of the church). He noticed she was shaking and upset, and she was able to tell him what happened so he could be praying. Because her teacher had seen her talking to the pastor, she didn't get in trouble for being a few minutes late to her first class.

We made it to the appointment without further incident; I was even able to convince him to buckle his carseat straps (with a small warning about what might happen if a police officer drove by and saw it unattached--hey, when it comes to my child's safety, I'll do what I have to! Luckily, the ziptie had been holding it together at the chest strap.) When we drove up to Ms. Melissa's office, I was surprised and relieved to see Brian there. Despite responsibilities at work, he knew that I needed him there that morning. So Brian was able to take M inside while I waited outside for Melissa to arrive and fill her in on what had taken place that morning. Had the Lord not impressed it upon Brian to meet us there, I would not have been able to talk to her alone. Praise God, she is a Christian, so I was able to share my thoughts about the spiritual aspect of what had happened. Her eyes filled with tears as she told me that the night before she had almost called me to cancel our appointment because she was feeling so overwhelmed and behind with work responsibilities that week. But she said she felt the Lord telling her she needed to keep Milkanu's appointment. Wow. If I hadn't been convinced before, I was most certainly then convinced there was a major spiritual battle going on. I just knew that Satan did not want us to get to that appointment, and that he was doing all that he could to prevent it. BUT OUR GOD PREVAILED!!! "...stronger is He that is in us than he who is against us." (1 John 4:4). Breaking protocol, right then and there in that parking lot, Melissa and I held hands and prayed together. We were both so thankful that she, I, and Brian were a team in this healing of Milkanu, with our Lord Jesus Christ as the captain. We almost didn't choose Melissa as Milkanu's therapist because her office was so far away, but God kept us together. I know that Melissa and everything that happened that morning and the night before was not a coincidence, but rather a God-incidence. Friends, do not take the spiritual world lightly. "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8) Dear sisters in Christ had not only prayed with me the night before for Milkanu's therapy appointment and the healing of his heart, but also for his salvation. And you know that the enemy did not like that. But Milkanu's Mommy and Daddy are fighting for him when he cannot fight for himself, and we will never let up. And I thank the Lord that so many of you are fighting along with us. Please don't let up. A little boy is depending on all of us...

I will keep you all updated on Milkanu's progress as we move along this next several weeks with more intensive therapy for him. It has been such an exhausting and overwhelming time for our entire family. But I love this reminder below. I found it on the blog of a friend of mine who is in the process of adopting a precious little girl from China. It was written by Derek Loux, singer and adoptive father of eight, who died in a car accident in 2009. I pray that all who read it will be reminded of God's incredible love for us:

"My friends, adoption is redemption. It's costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him."