More From Melissa M. Yamaguchi

This is my third devotional published with The Upper Room, praise be to God! Being a mother gives one plenty of celebration but also heartache, worrying, and lots of praying. It is only natural to experience these human tribulations, but there are days I need to remind myself to trust in the Lord.

This is also my third devotional involving our son Brennan, who has now finished his first year of high school. At the time of the writing, all of us were concerned about his friend who was the subject of today’s devotion. I am happy to say she is thriving and surviving well.

We are also doing wonderful with God’s grace. Many of you long-time readers and those who like to see the “story after” may recall our son’s journey as he passed a law 3 years ago at the age of 12. Although Brennan does not have epilepsy or seizures himself, he has made friends who do. He passed a mandate that local business and state offices in our state display placards for seizure first aid. He has been even busier now as a high schooler, but he has continued his message in new ways through his school, Key Club, and other extracurricular activities. Since passing the mandate, Brennan has continued to spread seizure first-aid awareness through two initiatives — Seize the Seeds, which provides packets of donated seeds for planting, and Seizure Safe Swimmers, which provides safety swim gear with seizure first-aid charts. We hope to also target some friends who play volleyball later this year with a project called Seizure Safe Setters. With 1 in 26 people in the world living with epilepsy or similar conditions and 1 in 10 people having a seizure in their lifetime, it has been Brennan’s life’s work to help others in the event of a seizure emergency. We are thankful God has used him as an instrument to aid others.

Our son is also involved in high school baseball and cross country, and he spends weekends volunteering with special needs athletics in our community. Our family also has participated in weekend beach clean-ups and native turtle releases this year, as pictured here. With all the time we spend outdoors, we have been blessed with God’s green grass, sunshine (sometimes a little rain), and the sights and sounds of nature. Thanks be to the Lord!