Seven years.It is hard to believe it’s been seven years already. The little boy who barely came up to his daddy’s waist is now a giant 12-year-old, almost as tall as mom. It’s so cool to see how far he has come, how much he has grown, and how we can’t even remember what life was like without him.
Happy Gotcha Day, [not-so-]Little Guy!
The short version is that my surgery has been postponed…
We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 this morning. I had followed all of the instructions to the letter, including no food after minow and then the nurse stopped by for some small thing, like sending me for a blood draw or giving me medicine.
By noon I had the pre-op meds in my system, was settled into my lovely hospital garb, and had begun napping in my bed. Soon a lady came by to start my IV. That was a disaster all its own. She struggled to start it, and reluctantly said she thought it should be okay. But as soon as she was gone, the nurse tried to begin the IV fluids, and realized it was no good.
After a few more delays, it was now past 2:00. And by the time the nurse came into let me know the surgery wouldn’t be happening, we had been there almost 7 hours.
Side note: the combination of medication and limited language skills can result in very slow processing of important information. Like the nurse saying ‘the operation is NOT happening today.” Yeah, I missed the word not. But once the words finally sunk in, the waterworks turned on rather quickly.
So all of this to say, no surgery for now. The two procedures before mine took much longer than anticipated. Of course I was not happy about the news. But I did appreciate that the surgeon came by to explain what happened and apologize.
Because of the upcoming holidays, looks like I’ll be waiting until the new year to get this behind me. Just another little surprise in this crazy chapter, but hopefully it won’t last too much longer!
“I have not lost faith in God. I have moments of anger and protest. Sometimes I’ve been closer to him for that reason.” ― Elie Wiesel
Instead I remember that when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). I know that He who is in me is greater (1John 4:4). I will face trials, but I will not face them alone (Psalm 147:3, John 16:33).
My apprehension is not an indicator of my faith. How I deal with it can be. I can choose to dwell in it, and allow worry and sorrow consume me. But instead, I choose to rest in my Savior. I choose to trust Him and His plan. And I choose to use this challenge for His glory.
So will you please be thinking of me on Wednesday? I am scheduled to check into the hospital at 8:00 am and will have surgery sometime after that. If you pray, please ask for calm nerves, overwhelming peace… and an extra measure of language understanding. Ask that the doctors will be able to proceed as planned, with no surprises, and ask for a speedy and smooth recovery.
And while you’re at it, will you also take a moment to pray for those in your life that you may have inadvertently put on pedastals? Ask God to encourage and equip them. I think Elisabeth Elliot had it right when she wrote “servants of the Lord ought to be models of the truth they proclaim.” But this should be the mantra of all followers of Christ, regardless of vocation or geographic location. May we be encouraging to each other and may we model truth to those around us!
When it comes to Christmas, I turn into a kid. I love the lights, music, decorations, food and anything else related. And if you haven’t ever experienced it, let me just tell you that there is something especially magical about Christmastime in Europe.