Calm & Carrying On

“We would never learn to be brave and patient

if there were only joy in the world.”

-- Helen Keller

 I’ll just come right out and say it:  My mom is having open-heart surgery to replace her aortic valve this coming Friday.  Long-ish story short, she had been having chest pains off-and-on for a while, and hasn’t left the hospital since Dad took her to emergency three weeks ago to find out what was going on.  A narrowed aortic valve is the ‘what’ and its replacement is what the medical professionals have deemed necessary.  And while it is a relief, especially for Mom, to know she will have her energy and stamina back once all is said and done, it’s the part in-between there and now that are, I think, helping us all cultivate some bravery, patience, and stronger faith. 

I would love to say with certainty my mom won’t need surgery, that God will yet miraculously heal her.  But the words Jesus spoke to two blind men – “According to your faith, be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29) – are as applicable now as they were then.  So we pray and trust the surgery will go off without a hitch and the recovery process will be a complete and speedy one.  That is what my parents have faith for, and that doesn’t make them weak Christians or any such thing.  It is what it is, and while that sounds simplistic, there is no point in fretting over any ‘what ifs’ .

Plus, none of what is happening or what is to come has thrown God for a loop.  Something a friend posted on Facebook last week expresses it well: 

He knows the beginning from the end.
He is not worried. He is not anxious. He does not wonder. He is not panicking.
He is not dealing with today's uncertainty. He is not guessing what will happen.

He knows how it will all turn out. He has a plan. He made a way.

 

 God has made a way.  Our every need is provided for (Philippians 4:19).  And that is more than enough as we traverse this particular path.