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Chris Fabry
Married to Andrea since 1982. We have 9 children together and none apart. Our dog's name is Tebow.
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Where We Are Now

After finding and remediating mold twice in our Colorado home, we abandoned ship in October 2008. Because of the high levels of exposure, our entire family was affected. After months of seeing different specialists for all of the problems, we came to Arizona to begin comprehensive treatment to rid our bodies of the toxic buildup. In August 2009 we moved into a larger home, four bedrooms, south of Tucson, north of Mexico. I am doing my daily radio program/ writing from that location. Thanks for praying for us. We really feel it.

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Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Andrea and I record a program each week with Dr. Gary Chapman who wrote The Five Love Languages. He's not only a NY Times bestselling author, he's also a great speaker on the radio, and he's kind and compassionate, always asking about our situation with the house, always offering to help in tangible ways. I don't think we could have a better friend in North Carolina.

We've recorded programs through December and the first topic we're hitting in January is "Couples in Crisis." The best writing advice is "write what you know," and it's the same with radio. Talk about what you know, what you're experiencing. So we'll record with him tomorrow and talk about some of the stuff we've been through in the past 18 months.

One thing we're accustomed to at this time of year, is disappointment. Our anniversary is a week before Christmas. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Last year, we had one child just out of the hospital and several others at varying stages of illness. We got everything set and for our anniversary thought, "We'll just have one meal together, alone, at a restaurant."

About a mile from the restaurant the phone rang and we turned around and went back home. It was disappointing. But the really great thing about this whole experience has been that we haven't let the crushing weight of what has come against us rip us apart. I'm not saying we agree about everything and I'm certainly not saying we don't argue. But our main goal here is survival and helping the children get well again, and when you come together for that kind of goal, it's hard to be torn apart. Not saying it can't happen, but by God's grace, we've been unified.

Maybe your family is going through some kind of crisis this year. Maybe even having a tree in the house and twinkling lights is the last thing you could imagine at this point. Don't give up hope and don't let the circumstances rip you and those you love apart.

Laughter helps, and I'm prone to more of it and she is prone to less. But I think she'd admit that my ability to smile through the misery has helped a bit. And her ability to tenaciously hang onto information and follow procedures has helped me tremendously.

The main glue to all of this is our relationship with God. If it weren't for that, I'd have plunged over the cliff long ago. For some reason, and I believe there is a purpose behind all this, God has allowed us to walk through this valley. Most of the time we've been carried. Allowing him to carry us through crisis is the best way to come out the other side whole.

cf

3 comments:

FreeCellPenguin said...

Amen!

Since laughter helps, let me offer this "helping hand"...

Why don't anteaters ever get sick?

Because they're so full of ant-i-bodies!

Did you hear about the three-legged dog who walked into the saloon. He said, "I'm looking for the man who shot my Paw!"

:-) Elaine

Anonymous said...

I agree. I can relate. Over the last 2 yrs. my husband and I have had to deal with many problems. I won't detail them all, but basically both my son & I were in the hospital at the same time 2 yrs ago. While my son has been adjusting well to dealing with his Type 1 diabetes, I continue to deal with one problem after the other. Consequently, my husband has had to take on a lot more of the household/child care responsibilities and take care of me. It's been 2 yrs and it feels like it's never going to get better. We've dealt with many of the emotions you've described with Andrea. Though we often find ourselves still dealing with the "why?" questions, we are very thankful to God that we still have each other and that we have grown ever closer through this. Thanks so much for being open about your struggles and emotions. I've never commented on a blog or radio program before - I just wanted to let you know that it helps to know that other Christians are going through tough stuff, too. I know in my head that this is not punishment, but sometimes, in my heart, it feels like it! I have to remind myself God is love, and remember all He has done!

Knellerfamily said...

Hey Chris, Make sure you let us know when his website is up and running and make sure to have him on again. I LOVED it.
B-McKne
from: Springfield Illinois