In case you haven't heard, we've had quite the month! Two days after Thanksgiving my husband broke two ribs playing a friendly game with some friends and their kids. Morgan (my 14 year old who was recovering from her leg surgery) was doing well enough to give up her crutches 3 days before Thanksgiving, but not well enough to play the game, so she just stood on the sidelines. God truly has a sense of humor, because while she was standing on the sideline watching the game, one of the players ran into her and broke her foot! (Aside from the pain, isn't that so unbelievable that it's laughable?) We didn't really think it was broke, so we just went home. The next morning my husband's father died so we didn't really do anything about her foot that day. By that night we were pretty sure the foot was broken, but decided to wait until the morning to go see her regular orthopedic doctor. When we finally got in to see him we found it was truly a broken bone in her foot (yes, it was on the same leg she just had the surgery on), so they put her in a removable cast/boot thing. WHILE I was at that appointment, my other daughter injured her ankle while playing at a friend's house. She wouldn't put any weight on it but I couldn't believe that she had actually broke it, so I just had her put it up and take it easy.
By the next morning it was apparent that it was probably broken. Once we got in to see the same
orthopedic her sister regularly sees, we got x-ray confirmation that she had broken completely through her fibia. Two girls in casts in two days and we were planning a funeral. Not to mention that we don't have great health coverage so we will probably end up paying for the break completely out of pocket. Oh, and we just found out that our less-than-stellar health coverage was tripling in price and we can't change health plans until our first daughter finishes her physical therapy! Okay, so now you know why I have had some down days and a few rounds of pouting before my God.
Some days I have felt like Noah in the ark. The storm is raging around me. It's not fun. It doesn't feel very secure. But somehow, I know that He is in control and He is going to bring us through this. He is going to provide. Other days, I am just tired, sad, and complain that we have already had to bear more than most people I know. WHAH! Those are the childish temper tantrum, pouting days.
I have found myself telling God that what I want for Christmas is for us all to stay healthy! No more medical problems and no more medical bills (more than a quarter of our income has gone to medical expenses this year). I want a better job for my husband with better, less expensive health coverage. I want to be able to save some money this year. I want to have money to give away this year. Nothing that I want is unreasonable or materialistic, so why won't God be reasonable?
"My thoughts are completely
different from yours,"
says the LORD.
"And my ways are far beyond
anything
you could imagine.
Isaiah 55:8
When I remember that I surrender all over again, sometimes multiple times in a day. I choose to trust Him because I do believe that His ways are far beyond anything I can understand. Then to top it all off, I found this poem from a book Max Lucado wrote called A Love Worth Giving.
You have a ticket to heaven no thief can take,
An eternal home no divorce can break.
Every sin of your life has been cast to the sea.
Every mistake you’ve made is nailed to the tree.
You’re blood-bought and heaven-made.
A child of God – forever saved.
So be grateful, joyful – for isn’t it true?
What you don’t have is much less
Than what you do.
He is right. What I don't have: good health, good health care, money in savings, money to cover our expenses, etc. all of these things that we don't have right now are much less than what we do have. I am choosing to dwell on the things I am grateful for. I am choosing to thank God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do with all of this stuff we are dealing with. So, all I want for Christmas is still all the things I mentioned and some that I didn't. But I am gaining perspective and trusting Him that He is enough. He IS enough! Fatigued and battle-worn, I can truly say, "To God be all the glory!"
Merry Christmas,
WP Stacey
