Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 50 (Thursday)

Encouragement Post – Day #50 (Thursday) Today is the National Day of Prayer in our nation. In my lifetime, at least that I can recall, there has never been a more desperate time in our nation for the need of God’s hand to move. Amazingly, God has given us a formula for praying for our nation even in our current situation right in His Word. We are pointed once again to the verses in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” As His people, these are conditions that we must meet for the healing of our land: humility, prayer, seeking His face, and turning from our wicked ways. 

Jesus echoed this by His example (Philippians 2:5-11), “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Lord, please heal our land.

Thankful for amazing doctors

I am one who cannot imagine being a doctor or a nurse, so I can't imagine having the courage to operate on another person.  But, I am so very thankful that there are those who are brave enough to do just that, as today it saved my friend's life.  She had an aneurysm that was fairly large and very dangerously thin and bulging. The doctor felt it could have ruptured and put her life in jeopardy at any moment.

She found out about this aneurysm because she had what she thought was a migraine ... for over a month!  She went to her general practitioner who suggested she get an MRI "just in case" and today she had a very intricate surgery to repair the aneurysm.

This was a 7 hour surgery (she was actually in the operating room that long), with a couple hours prep and a few hours in recovery.  Very long day! The doctor came out and told us that it was much larger and more serious than they originally thought and that the location of it in her brain was a very tricky spot.  Yet, he was able to repair the aneurysm, and he was hopeful that she should recover fully.

We are praising the Lord and thanking Him that someone whom we had never met before was brave enough to learn to do this kind of thing, strong enough to stand there for 7 hours (or however long it might have taken), gifted enough to use his skill and knowledge to accomplish this, so that our friend (who is in her mid-40s and has a husband and two children) will be well again.  Thank You, Lord, for doctors and for being the Great Physician, whether through miraculous healing or through miraculous doctors.

A lump in the road....

Well, I thought I would share some of what has been going on with me for the past few months, unrelated to artwork, holidays, or kids. At the beginning of September, I discovered a large lump under my left arm. It did not hurt at all, but was fairly large. I don't know how long it had been there, but I had not noticed it before. After a series of doctor visits, ultrasounds, and mammograms, the latest doctor in the series of doctors assured me that he saw no cause for concern. He did, however, want to keep a close eye on things which required me coming in for subsequent visits. After the last of these which was also followed by the requisite dopplar ultrasound, there had still been no change. So the doctor recommended that, in lieu of the continuing visits, ultrasounds, mammograms, etc., he would go in and take out the offending lump and do a biopsy. So, this past Tuesday I went in for the outpatient procedure. I am the lucky recipient of a 2 1/2 inch incision under my arm, and later in the week I received the fabulous news that the lump (a lipoma) is nothing to be concerned about.

In all honesty, I must tell you that I really was not worried about it... in fact, I hardly thought about it at all. But then, I am not a worrier by nature. On the other hand, my mother-in-law, my mother, and my hubby all do enough worrying that I don't have to. Of course, this is all fresh for my mother-in-law who just two years ago completed chemo treatments for breast cancer herself. In her case, we all felt that her original doctor was not proactive enough. So she did not want the same thing to happen to me. And believe me, I am very thankful that these precious people love me like they do. I must tell you that I am also thankful to only be recovering from the incision and not having to make decisions about what kind of treatment comes next. Many people were caring and praying for me, and I want to give God the glory for answering those prayers.

I have many responsibilities as a wife and mother which I truly enjoy. But I haven't been able to do some of those the last few days. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine now and truly moving on from this "lump in the road."

Blessings to you all,