Ep. 23 | How God Sustained Our Family Through 140 Days in the Hospital (Part 2: Darla’s Story)

When you’re walking through a hard season, it’s natural to pray for God to take it away.
We pray for healing. We pray for answers. We pray for the miracle.
And sometimes, God answers those prayers exactly as we hoped.
Other times, He gives us something different.
Not because He isn’t good. Not because He isn’t listening. But because He wants to show us that His presence is enough, even before our circumstances change.
That’s one of the greatest lessons our family learned during our daughter Darla’s 140 days in the hospital.

We Thought We Needed the Finish Line

When Darla was born, we knew life would look different.
Within her first day of life, she underwent major surgery. More surgeries followed. What we thought would be a six-week hospital stay slowly turned into nearly five months.
At first, all we could think about was getting her home.
Every milestone felt like it would be the one that finally changed everything.
But as the weeks turned into months, something unexpected happened.
God began changing us.

God Met Us in the Ordinary

Looking back, we don’t remember only the surgeries or the scary moments.
We remember God’s faithfulness in the ordinary.
A warm meal at the Ronald McDonald House after a long day.
Friends who carried burdens we couldn’t carry ourselves.
Doctors and nurses who loved our daughter like she was their own.
Morning walks that helped quiet anxious thoughts.
Time in God’s Word before another day in the NICU.
Those small moments didn’t erase our suffering.
They reminded us we weren’t walking through it alone.

Healthy Rhythms Matter Most When Life Falls Apart

One lesson we hope never to forget is this:
You don’t build healthy rhythms because life is easy.
You build them because someday life won’t be.
During those months, our normal routines changed, but we still held onto simple habits that helped us stay rooted.
Christian continued leading our family at home, keeping meals, school, and daily life moving forward for our six older children.
Kayla created space to walk, spend time with the Lord, and process what she was carrying instead of trying to escape it.
Those rhythms didn’t solve our problems.
They simply gave us somewhere to stand when everything else felt uncertain.

Don’t Escape the Hard Things

One of the biggest temptations during suffering is to numb ourselves.
We understand that temptation.
When life hurts, it’s easier to scroll, binge a show, or distract ourselves than it is to sit quietly with our thoughts.
But healing often begins where honesty begins.
One quote that stayed with us throughout this season came from Fred Rogers:
“Whatever is human is mentionable, and whatever is mentionable is manageable.”
Instead of running from our grief, we tried to face it.
We asked hard questions.
We cried.
We prayed.
We talked honestly with each other.
And slowly, God met us there.

God Used a Paintbrush

One unexpected gift from those long hospital days was watercolor.
What started as something to pass the time beside Darla’s hospital bed slowly became a place of healing.
Painting gave space to breathe.
To create beauty in the middle of brokenness.
To process emotions that words couldn’t always express.
Looking back now, it’s amazing to see that what began in a hospital room eventually grew into the art business we have today.
God didn’t just sustain us through that season.
He planted seeds we never would have imagined.

The Miracle Was Bigger Than We Realized

People often ask if we would change our story.
Of course, we never wanted our daughter to suffer.
No parent wants that.
But we also can’t imagine life without Darla.
She has taught us more about God’s faithfulness than we ever expected.
She has reminded us that every human life bears the image of God.
She has shown us joy that isn’t dependent on circumstances.
And she has changed our family forever.
Today, Darla still has ongoing medical needs.
We still travel to appointments.
We still don’t know everything the future holds.
But we know this:
God has never left us.

One Faithful Step at a Time

Maybe your story doesn’t involve a hospital room.
Maybe it’s a difficult marriage, a prodigal child, financial stress, grief, or a season that simply feels heavier than you expected.
Whatever you’re carrying today, we hope you’ll remember this:
God doesn’t promise an easy road.
He promises His presence.
Sometimes being rooted doesn’t look like standing strong.
Sometimes it looks like holding on to Jesus one day at a time until He carries you through.
If you’d like to hear the full story of Darla’s 140 days in the hospital—and the countless ways God met us there—we’d love for you to listen to this episode of The Rooted Family Podcast. We pray it reminds you that no matter what you’re facing, you are never walking through it alone.