The second day after Larry’s total knee replacement
surgery, he texted me about 8:30 in the morning that he might be dismissed. I
was still in bed at our daughter’s house and reading his message woke me with a
fright. Flashbacks of his dismissal from the hospital after his first knee
replacement surgery swept through my mind.
When we had arrived home from his first surgery, his pain level had
worsened so much so that we contacted his surgeon who was unavailable at that
time. We managed to speak to the doctor on call and eventually received
stronger pain medication. Then, beside the pain, there was concern about blood
clots. Consequently, these memories created anxiousness within me when Larry
said he might be dismissed, a day earlier than anticipated.
I hurriedly dressed, packed my bags, and drove to the
hospital. When I arrived, Larry was resting in bed. I must have looked in disarray because he
asked if I were okay. I confessed that I
felt anxious, especially with the possibility of his being dismissed. Selfishly, I wasn’t prepared to be the home
“nurse” quite yet.
As I struggled with these concerns, I felt my spirit
struggling as well. In my haste to get to the hospital, I had failed to release
my misgivings to God. In fact, the words
from one of my favorite Bible verses, Psalm 18:2, kept eluding me, and this
frustrated me even more. Trying to pull my emotions together, I found comfort
from the morning sun’s warm rays as I sat in a chair near the window in his
room. I glanced at Larry who had fallen
asleep. In that solemn atmosphere I
remembered I had a copy of the Bible on my nook. Immediately, I grabbed my nook
from my purse, woke it up, and selected the Bible from my library. When the page opened, I couldn’t believe my
eyes. Psalm 18:2 stared at me from the screen. “The LORD is my rock and my
fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield
and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Oh my…the verse I was struggling to remember appeared before me. To me
it was a small miracle, a gift from God, as though He had selected the page for
me. I was genuinely in awe of God’s goodness!!
I read the verse over and over and praised my Father for His Presence. I
continued to read and rest in the LORD.
When Larry woke from his nap, it was mid-morning and
no definite word of his dismissal was mentioned. In fact, the entire south wing
of the hospital where his room was located seemed rather quiet. A CNA entered
and checked his vitals as well as his pain level. She then commented that she
had heard that he might be going home. With her comment, I asked Larry if he
felt he was ready to be dismissed. He, too, was somewhat apprehensive. We had
nothing to do but wait.
Lunch time arrived. While Larry ate his food, I left
the hospital, not only for lunch but also to process what lay before us. After buying my food, I parked the car in the
hospital parking lot, ate, again thanked God for showing me the verse, and
relaxed. All the various emotions of the
morning had tired me. Then, as I rested,
I was reminded of a text I had recently received from my Christian soul sister
in Hong Kong. She had expressed her concern for Larry’s surgery and for me as
well. In fact, she said she had asked
her colleagues to pray for us too. With that reminder of prayer and the support
of her words plus the prayers of other prayer warriors, my body and my mind
were filled with an unexplainable sense of peace. Sitting alone in the silent
car refreshed my soul. Hope returned! I knew without a doubt that God would
give me the strength, the energy, and the patience I would need to help Larry
through the weeks of recovery. After all, He is my ROCK!!!
As it turned out, Larry was not dismissed that day
because his PT session did not go well and his pain level had risen. He stayed one more night and was dismissed
the next day. Both of us were better prepared, thanks to God who was involved throughout
our ordeal. He was the “ behind the scenes” guy, orchestrating all things for
our good: prayers and support of family and friends, the successful surgery and
the care of the health providers, the special Bible verse, the comforting
peace, the reassurance of His Presence, and much more. He had known our needs before we did and had
followed through with His faithfulness, His protection, His care, and His love.
“It shall come to pass
that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will
hear.” Isaiah 65:24
“In the multitude of my
anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19
