The dear, precious eyes of my Daddy looked back at me from the hospital bed. Eyes filled with pain and a confusion rarely seen there before.
How could this be? This strong man…. This godly man who is still one of the most influential foundations of my life… How could we not know what was happening to him? How could he—he who always seemed to be in control of everything as I was growing up—how could *he* not know what was going on?
Oh, those eyes… suddenly old… sunken… duller than they’ve ever been before…. dehydrated…. Face suddenly filled with lines too… all from lack of hydration.
I was so frazzled by the hospital sounds! When would they stop? Especially that incessant beeping! That awful interference of technology that kept beat with his heart!?! And yet, as interfering as it was—it was still a sign that his heart was continuing its normal beat. It is still strange to me how my musical mind began trying to harmonize with that beep—even as my heart struggled against it.
Oh Lord, why right now, my mind questioned? Why not *after* Christmas? And yet, I know the Lord’s timing is always perfect, and that reality waits for no one. Not even when we want it to…
For days we waited… all the while praying, wondering, and hoping… Oh the peace that passes all understanding! What would we be without it now, I wondered? How could I get through this without the Lord? Thank the Lord I don’t have to!!!
The tests—all the tests came back inconclusive. The questions continued. Why? Why? Why?!? What was causing the terrible pain? Why the burning, distended stomach/abdomen?
Finally, near the end of the week the doctor said it was time for surgery. Infection was setting in. When we asked where the infection was and what was causing it--he still had no idea. All he would say is that nothing made sense.
Forty-five minutes after the surgery began; it was over, and the answers came pouring out of the doctor’s mouth. Oh, how his words soothed our souls and calmed our worries! His words were like a healing balm! That’s when I realized that even as I had been resting in the Lord, my flesh was still alive and well... always there tugging and fighting for attention—trying to get me to take my eyes off the Lord and keep them off Him...
The doctor explained that it was all caused by an adhesion located 3 feet from the stomach. This adhesion was a band-like thing around the small intestine that cut off all digestion. The doctor still had questions about why the tests turned out like they did—but said that everything else appeared very healthy and normal.
And then, after Daddy was released from the hospital last Sunday, my mother recalled a memory of her childhood: her grandfather lying in bed for three weeks having horrible abdominal pain—until he died a pain-filled death… at ninety-nine...
Oh thank You Lord for the beeping! For the interference of technology! For the mercy You bestowed upon my family by saving my precious Daddy’s life through the miracle of surgery… Thank You for his life this Christmas!
But thank You most of all for our eternal life. Because even if things hadn’t turned out like they did (for we are *all* terminal cases—it’s just a matter of time…) we still have the assurance that through Christ’s Holy sacrifice, His payment for our sins, we will all meet again in heaven! Even such a sinner as I…
We praise You Lord!
Oh, what praises we will sing around Your throne!
Sending (((Hugs))) and much love to all my dear friends! :-)
Art ©2007 by ooly!
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