2014's First WOW!

I Can’t but He Can

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thanks so much for stopping by today for the first WOW of 2014. If you’re new to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power, WOW stands for Weapons of Warfare with Words of Wisdom. Life can sometimes feel like a nightmarish sort of roller coaster with unexpected twists and turns and gut-wrenching ups and downs. The best way to get through those times is with His Word, His love letters to us, His promises for us. Using His Word as a weapon of warfare will get us through the most painful of circumstances. So grab your coffee and come on in. Have I got a story that brings our first WOW to life!

Have you ever ridden the Montezuma’s Revenge at Knott’s Berry Farm? Oh, em gee, just thinking about it sends my stomach up to my throat because it takes off so fast your tears get frozen in the creases of your eyes and your eyebrows are suddenly plastered to the top of your head. You go from zero to blur in a nanosecond and there’s no way you’re making out any type of scenery along the way. Well, that’s about how 2014 has begun for me.

I am actually writing this for you from my hospital bed, my second one that is. Oh, get comfy. It’s a long story!

It was New Year’s Day and I had been sick for five days and when I woke up that morning feeling no better, I was way beyond disappointed. Why? Well, it was a bummer to begin the New Year that way, but even more disappointing is the fact that we were supposed to join my son and his family at Magic Mountain for their first New Year’s Day tradition, a tradition that he and I had for many years. I was so looking forward to beginning the year like my son and I used to: laughing like no one is listening, throwing all of our cares aside and riding the rides and just making great memories. And what is even cooler is there are no long lines to wait in; it’s like a ghost town because everyone’s home watching football and/or tearing down their Christmas decorations.

Unfortunately, we had to pull out of that plan – the good news is he says we’ll do it for Mother’s Day! I was incredibly disappointed but knew I couldn’t push the issue, let alone my body! I actually was beginning to get a little bit worried because of one symptom, not that I was discounting all the rest, but this one really got my attention and worked like a growing weed in the soil of my mind and it really sprouted after talking with my brother who used to be a hospital corpsman in the Navy. I don’t want to hear you go, Oh, my, TMI, so I’ll spare you the details and just say my liver enzymes were way too high, painting my fluids a very ugly yellow-brown. That symptom, along with insistence from my brother, sent me to ER.

ER on New Year’s Day? Are you kidding me, Lord? Really! So off we went and the whole process went by in a blur. I didn’t wait too long, or so it seemed. And I remember seeing this couple sitting across from us and recognizing the guy more than the lady. When I think I recognize someone, George says I have this bad habit of staring, but lo and behold, he was staring too! Turns out we knew them, or at least him! We had been to their place of business many times and had always had nothing but positive interactions with them. Now, there’s a reason I’m sharing that little coincidence, or God-incidence with you so put that away for later.

After five vials of blood, an ultrasound, and whatever else they did, I was left to sit in the hallway, waiting and wondering while George made a quick trip home to get our phone charger because both our phones were about dead. A few minutes after he left, a P.A. came and sat beside me. She looked at me and very calmly told me that they had seen a slight thickening on one side of my gallbladder and that my liver enzyme levels were way up, so they were going to admit me for further testing.
I remember experiencing a sense of peace after she got up; however, to be honest, a little bit of panic followed as I got up to ask to use a phone. They couldn’t admit me without my husband. Besides, this wasn’t how I envisioned spending the first day of a brand new year. Just as they were coming to get me, George walked in!

How was I to get through this? The worship song, “I can’t but He can” came to the walls of my heart, echoing as they put the IV in me and wheeled me to my room.

Join me tomorrow for more of this medical saga!

Trusting Him,
Evinda