Posted on by graceutomo12 · 4 Comments

Spring 2026: Writing and Ministry Update

Throwback to working on our first book 🙂

Good morning, Blogging Family! Thanks again so much for all your prayers over the past few weeks! It was also super encouraging for us to read the comments on my last post and learn ways that God has used Psalm 46 in your lives over the years. He truly is faithful!

Now that my hand is recovered, I wanted to give an update on what we’ve been up to this winter since the recital, as well as what we’re looking forward to the rest of the spring. It’s crazy to think that this time last year we were preparing to release our second book, Hello, God: Seeking the Lord When Words Fall Short, which drew on my personal experience of re-learning to pray after the brain injury. We’re both so grateful that God has opened the door for us to write two books about lessons He’s taught us from my accident, and continue to pray that He would use them for His purposes. Remembering what we were up to this time last year also explains what we’re currently pursuing!

First, based on my experiences sharing my faith in various hospital settings, as well as the journey we have shared with you all, I felt led to explore biblical counseling a few years ago. Due to a variety of factors, including writing two books in relatively short succession, counseling certification has not been something I mentioned here. Since January, I’ve been devoting the bulk of my energy to this ministry and have been blessed to see the Lord at work in people’s lives. I’ve also been very convicted about areas in which I need to personally grow as I spend time praying and preparing for sessions each week.

Although counseling is a major theme of my life right now, God is also being faithful in continuing to provide writing opportunities. Last summer, I got approved as a vendor for the San Jose Public Library, and loved teaching a fiction workshop last September. This April, I’ll be back to lead a poetry workshop. Although my published books have been nonfiction, I’m grateful to both SCAD and CalBaptist for challenging me to write in many genres while I was in school. So this is a huge blessing from the Lord because it challenges me to keep my writing skills sharp and allows me to continue teaching. I also see it as an indirect opportunity to witness because, although it’s a secular workshop, I can mention my own published work. 🙂

Finally, Ivan and I are grateful to have a couple of chances to share music and our testimony on the horizon. We loved sharing the history of violin with the Classical Conversations homeschool community last year, and are blessed to be returning in April, this time to talk about both violin and piano. We’re also excited to be partnering with a local small group to lead worship and share our testimony.

I’ll be posting more as we participate in some of these events. Thanks as always for your prayers and for walking with us!

Posted on by graceutomo12 · 5 Comments

A Helping Hand

Hello Blogging Family! Thank you all so much for your prayers and concern! I’m finally back to normal typing, and wanted to share a personal “thank you” as well as my own thoughts on the past couple of weeks.

Although we continue to be extremely grateful for just how faithful and powerful the Lord has been to restore so much of my life, this incident has reminded me that I’ve started to take certain parts of recovery for granted. On the bright side, it’s also been a sweet demonstration of all the love and support we continue to receive from our online community whenever there is a health-related update! ❤

As I consider the progress that I may have begun to take for granted – or push a little too far – working in the kitchen is one of the first things that comes to mind. Every time I’ve told my version of this latest incident and started with, “Well, I was opening a can one-handed…” I’m struck by how unwise this sounds. Although I’ve been opening cans for several years now, I’m realizing that it’s God’s mercy and protection that I made it this long without an accident.

While Ivan does most of the truly dangerous kitchen work at our house, I admit that my limitations with my left hand tempt me to feel insecure when I consider what other wives do for their husbands. This often prompts me to test my limits to see if I could be doing more. Hence my one-handed can-opening career. But the past couple of weeks have reminded us that when my experiments go south, I need significantly more help from him than if I focused on doing what we know I can do safely and well.

On the subject of help. the past couple of weeks have been a sweet reminder of how much Ivan is willing to help and how much my guilt for asking him is self-imposed. On the drive home from the hospital he began peppering me with questions about everything I would need help with now that I was down my right hand – including getting dressed. While I nixed that particular suggestion, the heart behind it was truly precious, and continued to remind me of how Ivan has always been willing to do whatever needs to be done to care for me.

And I did find myself humbled the following morning when we embarked on our two weeks of wound care. Although I knew I would need some help given that I had relatively incapacitated my dominant hand, after everything I’ve been through I pride myself on being rather tough and low maintenance. I laid everything out and read all the instructions, only to be hit by a wave of nausea when we removed the bandage. Maybe it’s been too many years since our last significant incident, or maybe there was something different about this cut (Ivan spared the gory details in his post), but I found myself unable to do anything except look away and pray while he did all the wound care. So this too was a poignant reminder, not just of Ivan’s willingness to help, but also of the Lord’s faithfulness and enabling power in all the trials we’ve been through in the past. I am more aware than ever that the grit I used to think was part of my personality is really an enabling grace God can give and remove as He sees fit. I’m very grateful for when He does choose to give it. When He does not, this causes me to depend on Him more closely and also be more grateful for the help I receive from others.

I’d like to close with Psalm 46, which my discipleship group recently memorized. The application question the week before my can-opener incident was “How are you going to apply this psalm to daily life?” At the time I’d talked about using it as a framework to pray for others and also praise God’s sovereignty over all our lives. I couldn’t imagine this application would get VERY real just a week later. In the ER, I was desperately looking for something to which I could fix my attention when it was time to get the stitches put in. Reciting the psalm in my mind and rehearsing the Lord’s presence and power transformed what would have been an otherwise extremely disconcerting few minutes for me. Hopefully this can also be an encouragement to all of you who have a practice of memorizing Scripture, or are considering starting this journey!

God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
 Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
 “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Posted on by ivanutomo · 5 Comments

Thumbs Up from the ER

Hello Blogging Family! Greetings from a teacher who is enjoying Ski Week 😊 For those unfamiliar with this tradition, schools in the San Jose area take the third week of February off for students to [presumably] enjoy going to the nearby mountains to ski. I myself am not a skier, but won’t say no to a week off!

Two weeks ago, Grace and I found ourselves once more at the ER. Thankfully, it’s been more than a year since we’ve had to go in, so while this trip was unnerving, it was also a great reminder of how far she’s come and how graciously and powerfully God has worked in our lives. She’s asked me to write this update for you all since typing is still a bit challenging for her while she recovers!

Two Wednesdays ago it was a little past 2 pm and I was in a meeting at work, when Grace called me. This was unusual since she knew I was working, so I took it.

“Hello?”

“I’ve hurt my hand really badly and need to go to the ER, so I need you to come home right now.”

“Did you cut it?”

“Just come home.”

With that, I made a hasty exit from my meeting and hurried to my car. I was once again very thankful that Grace and I live close to the school where I work. I made it home and saw Grace sitting on the floor, propped up against the kitchen cabinets, and, sure enough, her hand was badly cut (I will spare all the graphic details).

En route to the ER, I learned that Grace had been opening up a can and the lid had sliced deeply through the pad of her thumb. Due to her strokes from her initial accident almost 10 years ago, Grace has no sensation in her left hand and has to do all her kitchen tasks one-handed with sensory input from only her right hand, which, as you can imagine, makes things more difficult and, in this case, also more dangerous.

We got to the ER, and a nurse sat Grace down in the intake chair, asking the customary questions. When she got to the “Pain from 1 to 10?” question, Grace said “Seven,” and then passed out. We’re still not sure why this happened, but possible causes were that Grace never ate lunch (she was making it when she cut her hand) and/or loss of blood. A team of nurses surged to her and they took her in to a room right away. I noted she had a history of strokes and a TBI, and they let me in too.

By the time I got to the room, Grace was coming to. She was still a bit groggy, when when they asked her what happened, she said she didn’t remember. (Later she told me that when she was regaining consciousness, all she could see was white light, and she heard people’s voices speaking near her (the nurses) but it didn’t sound like they were speaking English).

To fast forward through the next four hours or so: we were very blessed to be attended by kind medical staff, who cleaned Grace’s wound and ran various tests. The ER doctor was also friendly, and although at first he thought Grace’s wound could be fixed using glue, but once all the blood was gone and he was able to assess the injury he concluded, “This needs stitches.”

So five stitches were put in her thumb pad, and they discharged us home. Grace was a trooper through all this; she has a remarkably high pain tolerance, which at times has actually prevented medical staff from accurately assessing her real pain level or the severity of what needs to be treated.

The following week brought with it a steady regimen of wound care, which for both of us was reminiscent of the first year post-accident. Thankfully, stitches were taken out this past weekend after the first 10 days, and the cut is healing well, although it was still open when he stitches came out, so she does still need to wear a splint and continue some care until it closes. All in all, we are grateful that there was no nerve damage, and no infection during initial healing.

This latest ER trip was not part of Grace’s or my plans two Wednesdays ago, but in His providence God had Grace go through this too. We trust that every event of our lives is under His wise and loving care, even the painful and unexpected things. I pray that whatever you may be facing right now, you will know God’s tender care for you, wise purposes for you, and power indwelling you through His Spirit. Thanks as always for walking with us!

Posted on by ivanutomo

24 Days of Hope: Mary’s Song of Praise

This painting of Mary visiting Elizabeth is called “The Visitation,” and is by the Renaissance master Raphael.

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to lead our prayer team’s pre-service prayer and devotion, and the Bible passage that came to mind was Mary’s prayer recorded in Luke 1:46-55, commonly known as the Magnificat (which is the first word of the Latin translation of this prayer). Although I had read this passage before, it struck me anew how beautiful and powerful this prayer is, and how brightly it shines the light of the good news of Christmas.

After receiving news from the angel Gabriel that she would bear the Son of God, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was herself pregnant with John the Baptist. When Elizabeth said to her, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord,” Mary responded by praising and worshiping God:

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Luke 1:46-49

What incredible faith and humility her prayer shows! Mary gave all the glory to God, recognizing His power and holiness, and her need for and dependence on Him. Mary understood that God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world, indeed, her savior and ours. She lived out of a knowledge of her proper standing before the Lord: that is, she was his servant (the Greek word can also be translated “bondservant”). She saw rightly that the source of all true blessing is God Himself, not anything generated from herself, her abilities, or her circumstances.

Do I live this way? Do I see the extent of my need for God? Do I profess to rely on Him, but operate out of self-reliance and pride? Do I, like Mary, and Paul, James, and others heroes of the faith, refer to myself as a servant of the Lord, or instead do I attempt to live as if I am master of my own fate?

The beauty of the Christmas message is that the righteous, almighty, gracious God of the universe has demonstrated His love for us, His creation, by sending His Son Jesus Christ to bring light and life into our broken world, into our broken lives. He brings redemption and restoration. Mary understood this, and rejoiced; may we join her in wholeheartedly worshiping our Lord.

Posted on by graceutomo12 · 1 Comment

24 Days of Hope: In Memoriam

When I began writing this post yesterday, I did not know that Jubilant Sykes was no longer with us, but was even then in the presence of our loving Heavenly Father. I won’t get into the specifics of his passing, as they are tragic and disturbing, but you can read about them here. Mr. Sykes was acclaimed in the world of secular classical music as a gifted opera singer, but many in the Christian community (including myself) knew and loved him for the way he used his extraordinary voice to worship our Lord.

This is the post I’d written yesterday, which I’ve decided to still share with you as a way to acknowledge his passing and praise God for the way he used Mr. Sykes while he was with us on earth. I hope you will also join with me in praying for his family during this heartbreaking time.

***

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Ivan and I are listening Christmas songs and carols every morning this season. “Mary Did You Know” is a song most of us probably know and love, but I must say this is my absolute favorite rendition. And coming from a musical background plus being a pastor’s kid, I’ve heard it sung more than a few times. 😉

I first heard Jubilant Sykes sing “Mary, Did You Know?” when I was a small child while my dad was in seminary. Due to my age, the import of the words was mostly lost on me, but I was still deeply moved by the power and conviction with which Mr. Sykes sang. As I grew older, I began to understand the song a bit more (he sang it every year). As an adult, I find the words profoundly meaningful, and I also understand much better how Mr. Sykes is able to convey them in such a worshipful way. I hope this version blesses you as much as it does me.

See you tomorrow!

Posted on by graceutomo12 · 6 Comments

Global Reflections after Reformation Sunday

This is a statue from Melk Abbey in Austria.

Hello, Blogging Family! I hope you had a blessed Reformation Sunday yesterday. This holiday has impacted me differently after our trip to Central Europe this summer. I’ve always been a voracious student of history, art, and music, and was excited to visit some of the countries that were crucial to classical music, the World Wars, and church history. I realized that Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Czechia are either Catholic or secular today, but I also knew that some of them had either been instrumental in the original spread of Christianity across Europe or the Protestant Reformation. They are still home to some of Europe’s oldest and most beautiful cathedrals. But I wasn’t prepared for the spiritual landscape we encountered during our trip.

We were blessed to tour cathedrals in each country, as well as Melk Abbey in Austria. Melk is a Benedictine monastery that was founded in 1089 and is famous for its ancient library as well as the dignitaries that have visited (including Mozart, Napoleon, and Empress Maria Theresa). The art and architecture in all these locations exceeded my expectations, and at Melk I especially loved seeing some medieval manuscripts I’d studied in facsimile during grad school at SCAD! 

But I was also deeply saddened as I pondered the Jesus portrayed by this art, and imagined how different my life would be if this were the only Jesus I knew. Everywhere we went, the representations of Christ we saw were effeminate and dead. He was typically either nailed to a cross, or being tended by his mother or saints after his death. While it’s essential to spend time remembering how much Jesus suffered for our sins, our hope of eternal life comes from the truth that he is a risen, powerful Savior who conquered death and is alive and working today (1 Cor. 15:12-28).

This focus on death wasn’t just limited to Jesus. At each cathedral, we were greeted by a list of saints’ relics that were either available for regular viewing or on “special occasions.” These ranged from finger bones and scraps of clothing, to a martyr’s tooth and jawbone that had been encased in jewels. When I asked our guides what they thought about the churches and relics they were representing, their answers were insightful. Some responded, “This is the church I was baptized and married in!” although whether they still attended was less forthcoming. Others highlighted that relics do not fare well when subjected to DNA testing. 

But one theme was universal: whatever the guides’ personal feelings about their churches, everyone agreed that the Protestant reformation was an inconvenient blip that had been decisively addressed by the Counter-Reformation hundreds of years ago.

I’ve had several months to reflect on this emphasis on death and the impact it seems to have had on the countries we visited, as well as do more research to compare data with the spiritual climate we sensed. For example, the Austrian embassy reports 3.8% of the population to be Protestant/evangelical, but most missions agencies believe this number is closer to 0.5%. Few Austrians actually attend the Catholic churches into which they were baptized. In recent years, New Age practices have begun gaining popularity with those searching for some form of spirituality. 

I think there are many factors at work here, but one of them could be that we are highly influenced by the images we absorb as children. If we only see Jesus portrayed as dead and powerless, and are taught instead to seek the intercession of dead saints and professional clergy, to whom we also have limited access, what immediate or eternal hope does this offer? Deep down all of us know we will never be good enough to earn God’s favor, and how much confidence can we really put in humans who left this earth centuries before us?

As protestants in the United States, it’s easy to dismiss Reformation Sunday as the anniversary of a German monk nailing a theological treatise to the door of a church on the other side of the world. But visiting these cathedrals in Central Europe and witnessing the functional outworking of the Counter-Reformation has reminded me that Reformation Sunday represents so much more than just that. It represents returning to an understanding that we come to God through faith alone in a living, powerful, resurrected Savior, who made a way for us to speak directly with God in prayer without human intermediaries. It represents the freedom – indeed the responsibility – to read God’s Word for ourselves instead of relying on “professional Christians” like priests to tell us what God says about himself. And through these reformations of speaking to and hearing from God ourselves, Reformation Sunday represents a renewed understanding that God is not only immediately accessible, but he wants to hear from us and speak to us, each and every day.

I hope these reflections will remind you of privileges that, if you’re like me and grew up in a protestant church, we can often take for granted. I also hope that if countries like Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary haven’t been on your prayer radar until now, you will join me in praying that God will pave the way for his gospel to gain more and more traction in these countries. He may even have a role for you or me to play!

Posted on by graceutomo12 · 6 Comments

Create and Renew

Last month marked the two year anniversary of Walking with Grace. It’s amazing to reflect on all that God has done in the past two years. We’ve had the privilege of meeting so many people, and sharing how God has worked in our lives. I’ve started playing violin again, and we released our second book, Hello, God, in May. We’re hoping to hold another recital in person this January, so stay tuned!

It’s also crazy that Ivan and I are approaching 10 years of marriage this December. A decade seems like a long time, but given my accident and years of battling seizures, we both commented that we feel more like newlyweds! Much of this year has been focused on slowing down, taking stock of where we’re at in our relationship with the Lord and each other, how much we’ve learned, and more importantly how far we have yet to go.

That’s why I’ve been meditating on this verse from Psalm 51:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.”

Psalm 51:10

I think it’s an interesting contrast, especially for those of us who’ve been believers for a long time. Whether or not we’re repenting of grievous sin like David was, it’s interesting to consider why he pairs these requests.

He could have simply asked God to cleanse his heart, but asking God to “create” a clean heart sounds more like starting from scratch. However, in the next line, the word “renew” highlights that he’s not coming to God for the first time, or in our modern language “becoming a Christian.” 

Perhaps this paradox can be explained by the parallelisms that occur in Hebrew poetry, but I think it also captures the experience that many of us encounter when we run into a problem or sin that seems so overwhelming it can only be solved by God giving us a heart transplant. Yet that verse’s second half, “renew a steadfast spirit” acknowledges the reality that sometimes this happens even when we’ve been walking with him for a long time.

Ultimately, our hope for continued transformation does not lie in our own willpower. Although David was writing in the Old Testament, he pleads “take not your Holy Spirit from me” in verse 11. His experience of the Holy Spirit was different from ours. However, he knew that his ability to overcome sin was not due to his own strength, but God‘s enabling presence and power. This is even more true for us today after Jesus’ resurrection (John 14:16-24).

While I hope few of us hit lows as deep as David’s, I think the desire for a “new heart” is relatively common, and I love that God in his wisdom prompted David to pair the request to create a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit – two actions we might consider mutually exclusive – in the same verse.

For Ivan and me, we’re extremely grateful for all God has done in our lives, but we can also be tempted to feel like we should be further along relationally or spiritually. Meditating on David’s life and how he was called “the man after God’s own heart” although his trajectory was far from linear, and pondering how this single verse brings so much insight to the complexities of sanctification has been greatly encouraging. I hope it will encourage you as well! 

Posted on by graceutomo12 · 1 Comment

Seeing God: Lessons from Matt Redman

One of my favorite names for God is El-roi, or  “the God who sees me.” (Gen. 16:13). This name for God, and the story of God dealing tenderly and patiently with Hagar, a woman who was a foreigner, slave, and surrogate mother, has become increasingly precious to me since my accident. God uses a variety of ways to show us that he sees us, including the compassion of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Last week was a sweet reminder of what it was like to feel seen in the early days of my recovery, and also an opportunity to watch that gift be passed on to the next generation. 

Last Monday, we took some worship team students from Valley Christian down to BIOLA to spend a couple of days observing chapels and audit a songwriting workshop taught by Matt Redman. This trip was especially meaningful because Ivan taught the three Redman boys piano when we lived in Southern California. Most parents keep their relationship with their children’s music teacher strictly professional, so we were really surprised the Redmans took an interest in how we were doing after my accident – especially since I’d never met them when it happened. Once I got a little stronger, they even let me come along to lessons to have a change of scene. This was incredibly thoughtful, since public spaces were still too crowded and noisy for my brain injury to tolerate, which meant I stayed in our apartment most of the time. 

I was incredibly nervous the first time Ivan brought me to a lesson. I was clutching two books and a journal, determined to vanish into a shadowy corner as soon as I got through the door. The Redman’s house was devoid of shadowy corners. Furthermore, I was not the piano teacher’s recovering tagalong, but someone they actually wanted to see. Matt’s wife, Beth, sat  and talked with me quietly in the living room for as long as I could tolerate, while also being sensitive to what Ivan must have mentioned about my struggles with fatigue and overstimulation. On the drive home, both Ivan and I were taken aback by this turn of events. However, after a few days of bewilderment I decided they were just being hospitable and I shouldn’t push my luck. The following Saturday I fortified myself with books and journal – and we repeated the entire ritual. 

After a few weeks I finally embraced that the Redmans weren’t viewing me as a charity project, or even trying to maintain some sort of public image. They were doing what they did because they loved God, and I loved God, and that commonality was far stronger than all our differences. Beth’s choice to give up a large chunk of her Saturday mornings gave me something to look forward to every week and provided a huge source of spiritual encouragement, as well as a rare opportunity to feel seen as a normal human being in spite of all the medical appointments that kept us scrambling Monday-Friday. 

Last week, as we were sitting in the songwriting clinic with our wide-eyed high schoolers and a handful of BIOLA undergrads, I was deeply encouraged to hear Matt share that his primary calling was not to help people sing better, but to help people see God better. God is a self-revealing God, he shared, and no matter what our vocation is, our calling is to live in such a way that people can see God’s character in what we do. For Matt, that means writing songs that reflect biblical truths and also give space for congregations to respond to those truths. I happen to be a writer, so my application is similar, although I don’t have to worry about whether my words work with a melody. But for all of us, I think the principle of helping people see God through our lives stems from one of my favorite verses, 1 John 4:19. “We love because he first loved us.” God saw us first and loved us first, and is always forever seeing and loving us through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus.  And if we are saved, it is our gratitude for this supernatural seeing and loving, and our reliance on his Spirit, that empowers us to deeply see and deeply love those around us.

Posted on by graceutomo12 · 3 Comments

Mourning a Brother and Image-Bearer

Good morning, Blogging Family! I rarely write about politics, but today is a heavy day as we mourn the violent and untimely death of someone who represented free speech and the good news of Jesus Christ. 

It’s easy to look at Charlie Kirk’s death and turn it into a parable about the state of our nation or a platform for reinforcing our own political views. But I want to pause and contemplate what it means for any life to be snuffed out. We are all made in the image of God, whether or not we surrender our lives to Jesus, and therefore it grieves God deeply when that image is violated or destroyed (Gen. 9:6). God also places us all in families, giving us unique roles that only we can play. Our absence, whether physical or emotional, creates a vacuum that cannot be downplayed. So when I consider yesterday’s loss, although it has significant implications for our country, I’m most impressed by how grieved the Lord is over what has transpired. And secondarily, by how much we should be mourning for Charlie’s precious wife and children.

But there is also hope. Charlie Kirk was not just a political figure. He was also a brother in Christ who understood that true transformation is not possible apart from a worldview rooted in the gospel. (If you’re curious about his Christian witness, check out this video on atheism and morality and this video on the gender controversy). I admired him because he could have difficult conversations on politically-charged topics while modeling 1 Peter 3:15:

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”

And it is this Christian testimony that gives hope as we pray for Charlie’s family. While I believe we should grieve him as a human being, father, and brother in Christ first and foremost, I believe that our shared kinship in Christ means that his loss, while irreplaceable, is one illumined by redemption. Charlie ran the race well and is rejoicing before the face of his Father and Redeemer, finally received into that great cloud of witnesses that was cheering for him during his time on earth. And the God he is worshiping this very moment has also revealed Himself to us as “our merciful Father and the source of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3).  He is near to the brokenhearted and carries them in His arms every day (Psalm 34:18; 68:19). While no one will ever be able to replace who Charlie was to his family, we can trust that the Lord will be faithful to keep His promise to comfort, carry, and heal them day by day.

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, I hope that today can be a day of remembering the shared preciousness of human life and the image of God that we all bear, no matter our background. I hope it will also be a time of remembering the unity that is found in Christ, as well as the hope that this offers when we’re confronted with tragedy. Finally, I hope that Charlie’s example will encourage us to be more bold in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ kindly and unapologetically in the contexts in which God has placed us.

“No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” ~ Matt. 5:15

Posted on by graceutomo12 · 2 Comments

One Year of Driving!

Good afternoon, Blogging Family! Did you know it’s been just over a year since I began learning to drive again? This photo is a throwback from my first time behind the wheel at the end of August 2024. Life moves so quickly that it’s easy to lose sight of how God has been working, so I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how grateful I am for his restoring this part of my life.

For seven years, seizures made driving completely out of the question. Even after we realized God had healed my seizures, I needed to be “clean” for a year before I could move forward with getting my license back. To say I was nervous about handling a car without being able to feel my left hand, not to mention the visual-spatial deficits and fatigue that remain from my brain injury, was an understatement!

But God has been faithful, and one year later I’m able to drive relatively normally (including freeways), although parallel parking remains above my pay grade. 😉 We don’t have plans to get a second car since, as of my last physical, I’m still not at a place where I could sustain a traditional job. However, I’m grateful to have the option to drop Ivan off at work and run errands during the day.

If you’re new to the blog, or would like a refresher on our journey – I say “our” because it required a lot of help from Ivan to get me driving again – I’ve included a round-up of posts below:

  1. “I Drove a Car!”: My first time behind the wheel, as well as a breakdown of the medical concerns about my driving after two strokes and a head injury.
  2. “Driving Practice is Marriage Practice”: Snapshot of what “re-learning to drive” was like for Ivan and me, plus that time a wasp got stuck in the car while I was driving!
  3. “A Licensed Driver!” The providential – and surprisingly convoluted – story of the day I got my license back.
  4. “On the Road Again: Embracing Reality”: How learning to drive on the freeway has been a humbling process rather than an event.
  5. “Reflections from a Shattered Mirror”: The story of my first driving incident (Ivan was very gracious!)

As always, thank you so much for your prayers and support!