To The Hospital and Back – God’s Grace in Trying Times
Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t know what to do, and yet an urgent and huge decision must be made? I made a tough decision that landed us in the hospital for a few days, and Praise God, it was the right decision!
A little over a week ago, one of my girls felt sick. I figured it was a tummy bug, but on the fourth day of the normal treatments and watching her progressively worsen, I got very concerned.
God is so faithful. I called a friend to let her know I would be missing a school meeting, and she jumped into action when she heard our situation. Within an hour, I found myself at the ER where they were running tests and re-hydrating my brave girl.
Diagnosis: Perforated appendix.
“You’ll be here for a while until we can clear up the infection.” The doctor was saying, and all of a sudden it dawned on me just how serious this was. You know? I thought the feeling of time standing still and voices getting muddled in the background of your own heartbeat was just movie drama. I avoid drama.
None of my kids had ever been in the hospital! What will I do with the other 4 while Brad is at work and I am at the hospital? How will we pay for this? Why aren’t they doing an immediate surgery? On and on the thoughts rained down. Again, God is so faithful!
“Things always work out” you may say. And they do… but it’s so nice when it’s God who goes ahead of you and takes care of every detail in such a loving way as opposed to us trying to make it all work out.
Our community of friends and church family rallied around us, each expressing God’s love in their own unique way. Our family, near and far, prayed. And every single one of them met a need that I couldn’t even put words to.
Visits in the hospital. Watching our kids. Cooking meals. Praying. Encouraging. Monetary gifts. Just being available.
And then there was the hospital staff that took care of us. I felt like we got the best care possible, at the right time and in the right way. We definitely had favor all around.
Through the whole incident, I was constantly reminded of something my Heavenly Papa has been whispering to me over the last bit:
“You are at the right place, at the right time – I make sure of that because I love you. And I have sent the right people and resources to meet your every need.”
Carried.
I felt carried through these last two weeks.
There was such a grace to make decisions… even with the logistics of a large family. There was such peace at every turn. Everything was taken care of by Him, through His body. Every fear and insecurity washed away by Brad, friends and family speaking Truth constantly. Honestly, I can’t say enough!
I just felt the need to capture the moment and share it with you.
It wasn’t just our amazing community, although they are pretty amazing. Nor was it only the state-of-the-art Children’s Hospital and top-notch medical staff, although all of that is true. It wasn’t isolated to the fact that Brad and I work well together, picking one up when the other is down. And it wasn’t just “the amazing way kids bounce back from stuff like this”.
It was God, masterfully and beautifully choreographing the entire story to show His great love and care for us, and displaying His power and glory through His people and the ordering of events.
Our enemy may have tried to attack our family, but no weapon formed against us shall prosper!
Our daughter’s been home for the last week. She’s supposed to be recovering. Ha! The very day after we got home from the hospital, she bounded out of bed, ate a huge breakfast for the first time in 10 days, went for a swim with friends and she hasn’t stopped since.
There may still be a journey ahead as the doctors follow up with her next week, but I know how it’s going to turn out: Glorious. He’s got this.
And He’s got you!
PS: Savanna would like to thank her nurses: Al, Hannah, Hailey, Adam and Sarah; and the countless others who at one point or another took care of her.