Ripley’s 6 Month Check Up and God’s Power

On Tuesday, Ripley had her 6 month check up and her vaccine shots. Teresa told me she took the shots (one in her right thigh and two in the left) very well like the last two times. According to the doctor, Ripley is in the middle of her 7th month with her motor functions, in the 75 percentile for her weight and length, and in the 90 percentile for her head (I take that meaning she has a big brain and smart).

Tuesday was the normal day after the vaccine shots where Ripley wasn’t her usual self because her body was generating immunity to what was put in her in the shots. Tuesday night she was running a mild temperature (101.5 degrees) but the on-call doctor told us to give her children’s Tylenol. This is as it had been the last 2 times before. The only difference this time around is that Ripley was still not herself on Wednesday; lying around not being her energic self.

When I got home on Wednesday, Ripley was asleep as usual but she never really was awake; she was just there. I noticed her left thigh was swollen and was red around area of the shots. That’s when Teresa told me that they had given two shots in the left thigh. I held Ripley for awhile so Teresa could eat and she slept on me; I love it when she does this. At 6:30 we went upstairs; Teresa took Ripley to our bedroom and I went to the study to get church stuff done. When I came in the room around 7:15 Ripley was standing (Teresa holding her study) and she seemed like herself. She looked at me and had a big smile. It seemed she was thinking “Hi, Daddy! When did you get home?” It was a relief for me because in the back of my head every time we have to do the vaccine thing I think about the rise of Autism in the U.S. I think, “Is there a link of babies getting vaccines and the rise of Autism?” There is no concrete proof that vaccines can cause Autism in babies but there is no evidence that can disproof it either. I hold my breath when we do it and when Ripley is Ripley afterward, I can relax. I chalk it up to being a first time father but there is a concern for me if there is a relationship of getting vaccines and the possible cause of certain types of Autism.

I say that I had concerns with this but I know nothing will happen to Ripley unless God allows it to. I tell people that it’s alright to be concerned but not to worry. For me, when you worry you doubt God can work in the situation. God is always in control. Even when Ripley had to have surgery to correct the intestinal malrotation when she was only 10 days old, I knew God was in control and His prefect will was going to be done. I was never worried; a little concerned for my baby but I knew God was going to carry her though and He did.

Sometimes, we forget that God is the One who created everything we know. If you take the entire known universe and the unknown universe and put it all in the palm of God’s hand it is only a like a speck of dust. He is the all-powerful, everywhere present, all-knowing, and loving God. If you are reading this and call yourself a Christian, remember you had enough faith to trust you eternal soul to the One (Jesus Christ; God in flesh) why can’t you trust Him enough to carry you through whatever you are going through? When you worry, you doubt God’s power to carry you. Trust in Him.

Below are two video clips and some photos of our trip to Roanoke and my parents’ house. We had a great time with my parents and got some well needed rest. Enjoy.