Sent September 9, 2010

 

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Our little baby, Maddox Ray Bilbo is doing so much better. We'll know more about his progress today...yes...we are believing for progress! Yesterday, he was taken off of the ventilator which was very exciting! He is still hooked up to oxygen and has several wires and an IV attached to him. Of course, we hate seeing him this way, but we are happy that he is getting all the treatment that he needs. His punctured lung has stopped draining air. This is very great news. We'll know more through Xrays today.

 

 

 

How am I? I, along with Brandon and our families, are hopeful and confident that according to the Word of God in Philippians 1:6, "He who has begun a good work in you [Maddox Ray Bilbo] will COMPLETE it..." This has been my mother-in-law's prayer over our little angel when she sees him-one of many prayers from our family by Maddox's bedside.

 

I can honestly tell you that I am not worried about Maddox's condition. I have been at peace. I KNOW that the Lord will bring him through this. Yes, I have shed many tears and have broken down in my room simply because I want to hold him. He is just so perfect, and it's hard to see him crying yet you can't pick him up. We just let him squeeze onto our fingers so that he knows we are there.

 

When we were choosing a name, we wanted a name with a strong meaning. Brandon felt like every time someone would speak his name, it would be a prophetic declaration over his life. We settled on Maddox, which means SON OF THE LORD. So, although his earthly mother and father cannot hold him right now, he is in the arms of his heavenly father-which is the BEST place to be! I find solace in this. His nickname MAX means GREAT, and that he is! He is GREAT AND STRONG!

 

Maddox is the BIGGEST baby in the NICU. Brandon says that he is so big that he looks like he ate a couple of the other babies in there. The nurses say that he is SO STRONG that he tries to pull out all of his wires. They say he is a feisty little thing! It may be due to all the salsa I ate while pregnant, but nonetheless, we have a strong fighter!

 

So, why did I title this OUR FRAGILE GIANT? That is the name given to the big babies in the NICU. They say that the big babies look so healthy that you'd never believe anything was wrong with them-but this is how I see it. I see it through the Word of God.

 

Webster defines FRAGILE as "easily broken." GIANT is defined as "a legendary humanlike being of great stature and strength; a living being of great size; a person of extraordinary powers; something unusually large or powerful."

 

So, how can something so fragile...so easily broken be so great and powerful? SIMPLE!

 

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this

light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is

seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

 

2 Corinthians 4:7

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like FRAGILE JARS OF CLAY containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our GREAT POWER is from God, not from ourselves.

 

2 Corinthians 4:8

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We

are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

 

2 Corinthians 4:9

We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

 

Our little baby may be fragile right now. He may have been pressed on every side, but HE HAS NOT BEEN CRUSHED. He may have been hunted down-because that ole devil knows the TREASURE that Maddox contains and the POWER that is inside of him-but HE HAS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE ABANDONED BY GOD. He may have been knocked down these last couple of days, BUT HE IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE DESTROYED!

 

Aren't we all fragile giants? I don't know what you are doing through today. We have been facing the biggest battle of our lives yet, but I can tell you...

 

Brandon, our family, and I have all had our moments of fragility. Last night should have been the first night home with our baby. We've all cried...we've all felt like we've been pressed on every side....we've all been perplexed at why this is happening...we've all felt like we're under attack from the enemy...we've all felt knocked down BUT we too are NOT CRUSHED, NOT DRIVEN TO DESPAIR, NOT ALONE, AND NOT DESTROYED.

 

We, like are baby boy, are POWERFUL GIANTS! The power of God is inside of all of us, and we know that OUR GOD who is ALIVE...who rose from the dead is working on our behalf right now.

 

So, no matter what you are going through today. Be encouraged. You may feel fragile, but that's okay. When we come to the Lord broken...just as that broken jar of clay, it gives Him the opportunity to reshape us and to remold us into something better than we were before. It gives our God the opportunity to show His great power.

 

I already give God all of the glory! I know we will have a great report, and we are believing for you...for whatever you are facing...financial troubles, loneliness, loss, sickness...whatever it may be...We give God all the glory for your miracle as well!

 

I have not been able to write to each person individually and probably won't be able to, but please know that Brandon and I covet your prayers and SO APPRECIATE all of your kind words, love and support!

 

We can't wait for you all to eventually meet our little warrior! You thought he was going to be spoiled already...watch out now!!! Our baby is a gift that will NEVER be taken for granted. We have HIGH HOPES for his future.

 

Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you [Maddox Ray Bilbo]," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

 

Love, Rachelle

 

Our little family today: