Was that really a week or did I just wake up from a bad dream? I started out Monday morning in the Emergency Room by orders of my doctor. I won’t go into the details as to why. However, the visit resulted in a colonoscopy being ordered for Friday morning. If you’ve ever had a colonoscopy, you know that there is preparation one must do the day before. I rushed home from work on Thursday to start my first dose at 3:30 as ordered. I started drinking my meds and half way through this horrible tasting stuff, Jim walked in the door early from work exhibiting signs of a heart attack.
I took his blood pressure as a good nursing school dropout should. Then I Googled his symptoms. Oh, yes, we need to get to the Emergency Room! I’m going to be a little blunt here, but I don’t think there’s a reader who can’t relate. I put him in the car and prayed all the way there that I didn’t poo my pants. I had no idea how long it would take the meds to start working! We spent the remainder of the day in the ER only to determine that he needed to be admitted for more tests.
I didn’t get any sleep that night and arrived at about 6:30 am Friday morning at the hospital. I wanted to see Jim and drop him off some clothes and a toothbrush before going to my test at 7:30. While I was undergoing my colonoscopy, he was somewhere else in the hospital having a stress test! Nothing like supporting the local medical center with everything we’ve got…and probably some we don’t have too! I got a clean bill of health and was very happy that I don’t have to repeat that scenario for another ten years…or never if I have it my way! Jim on the other hand remains undiagnosed; however, they did decide his heart is fine.
When I walked into church today someone said, “You look so good for all you’ve been through this week!” After all we’ve been through in our lifetimes, not much affects us anymore. Yes, I was concerned about what they might find for either one of us. Yes, I hated to think my husband might have something major wrong. Yes, the situations exhausted us. However, there truly is a peace that can’t be explained when your eyes are set on Jesus.
Then quite appropriately, the sermon today at our church was titled, “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?” You see, a young couple in our church are pregnant with a child they may never get to know in this lifetime. Unless God does a miracle, their baby’s brain may not be formed enough to even tell it how to breathe when it is born. It doesn’t take long for your perspective to change when you realize that maybe your problems aren’t all that bad. As I watched this young couple talk about their unborn baby with a peace that only God could give; I recognized the same strength we were experiencing in our trials. The same Holy Spirit that was getting us through our week was also getting them through theirs. No matter what we might be facing in this life; God’s peace can be there if we will just seek Him and keep Him first in everything that comes our way. He is the same from one person to another…His strength and peace never change.
None of us know what tomorrow brings, but we can rest knowing that the Lord who created us has it all under control. What have you been going through this week? Have you asked for God’s peace? It really is real and can be yours if you trust and believe that God can. In the meantime, please put Jim and Ella (the unborn baby) on your prayer lists this week. I’m praying for some good things ahead! Be blessed and don’t forget to get out there and be a blessing!
Isaiah 54:10 (NIV) Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Lori Kempton, Author/Speaker 