November 23, 2017

Ever wonder what God is doing in your life? As we navigate through the challenges of the day is our heart tender enough to look for what God what us to see? Last Tuesday I had the new experience of total knee replacement. What I had was beyond repair and to continue to have any quality of life I needed to have my left knee replaced. I had prayed according to Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” and asked others to do the same and felt comfortable with the path.
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After surgery and getting back into the room everything seemed to be progressing nicely. I had been placed in a room with a Godly man and we rejoiced and praised God for his blessings. What a thrill that was! I was up and walking within hours, pain was manageable and the road to recovery had begun. As the time to be discharged drew closer I had developed a case of hiccups. I had not had a case of hiccups in years. Could not even remember the last time I had hiccups. The hospital staff never gave it a second thought and wished me well as I went out the door.

That evening it became apparent that the hiccups were not going to go away. I had tried every remedy I knew, tried others that people recommended and even tried a few that made me wonder if there was not a hidden camera somewhere recording what I was doing. Nothing worked! By the next day the effects of the hiccups began to hinder my breathing, there was no rest and that coupled with the pain of a new knee made the situation challenging. Later that evening we decided to go back to the hospital and as we were going out the door the primary care physician called and said to try a medicine has had just phoned in. Relief came within the hour and the hiccups were gone!

Being thankful that the hiccups were gone gave me the opportunity to realize that my breathing was compromised. For the next 48 hours the focus was on trying to get a full breath. By Monday I was back at the primary care physician and another two medications were prescribed to address those issues. By Tuesday afternoon I could see some relief and then reality hit me that I had my knee replaced. I had been addressing everything else that the knee had become secondary. Now suddenly it dawned on me that this hurt!

Here is the crux of the story…the reason I share this with you. During all this a leak was discovered under the hot water tank. What could I do? I could barely walk, struggling to breath and fatigue is amazing after surgery. I contacted my plumber who also happens to be a believer that allows God to direct his path. He came, evaluated the situation and found out it was not as bad as we had first thought. As we discussed the repair and all the other things that had been going on Carlos looked at me and said, “What is God trying to show you?” I looked back at Carlos and he just smiled. He repeated the question “What is God trying to show you?”  He then gathered himself, walked out the door, said “I will be back, and I love you.”

As I watched Carlos walk down the sidewalk I bowed my head and asked God to make it clear. I asked God to make me tender to his will not mine. Make me receptive to his leading not mine. Mold me into the person he wants me to be. The walk of a believer should never be focused on anything other than God. In every situation God is there. When I underwent surgery, he was there. He knew when I got post-operative hiccups (who gets that anyway?) he was there. He knew when I could not breathe and the anxiety that came with that and he was there. He knew about the leak and he was there. At the very time that everything  seems to be piling up God sends Carlos to remind me to look for what he is showing me. What a mighty God we have. Enjoy your coffee!
Love you all,
Pastor Gary