Thank You for Sitting

April 3, 2013, by Kristin Neva

Traveling to Minnesota to spend Easter with Todd’s family, we stopped at Kohl’s in Duluth. At the checkout, the cashier announced the total, and I turned to Todd apologetically saying, “We don’t shop often.”

Todd did a mental calculation of his long term disability income, then smiled. “I had to sit five hours for those clothes,” he said.

“Thank you for sitting, Todd,” I said.

Thank you for sitting with Sara, praying for the cliquey girls who excluded her.

Thank you for sitting with Isaac in the sauna, passing on our Finnish heritage.

Thank you for sitting in the path of a toy tornado, coaching the kids in the art of picking up.

Thank you for sitting with me, giving me feedback and insight as I planned a devotional for the women’s Bible Study.

Thank you for sitting on the edge of the kids’ beds each night and asking, “Is there anything that happened today that made you really happy?” and “Is there anything that happened today that made you really sad?”

Thank you for sitting on the recliner, telling Isaac to punch you in the stomach, but to be gentle with Mom.

Thank you for sitting next to Sara’s desk every morning to homeschool her.

Thank you for sitting with our family on most mornings to study God’s Word. It is exciting to see the connections Sara is making as we go through the book of John. I love when Isaac complains, “Dad, I didn’t learn anything,” and you say, “Okay, Isaac, repeat this verse after me.”

You would rather be working. You miss the intellectual stimulation. But you are sitting well, engaged in our lives. If you had a performance evaluation, you’d be promoted.

While in Minnesota we attended an ALS clinic. Todd’s breathing is still strong, thankfully. His day-to-day living informs us that the disease continues to progress, but the doctor didn’t see much progression as last time he had fatigued his muscles with house projects prior to the visit. This time, he is weaker without having had the activity. The neurologist does not bother to assess his hands anymore as they are just so weak. Nonetheless, the disease progression is relatively slow. We are thankful for the time we have.