The “lazy days of Summer” have taken on a whole new meaning for me!

When I began this Summer series, “lazy days of Summer”, it was basically tongue-in-cheek!  Lazy is not in my vocabulary. I was raised by a dad who quoted mantras over my life, such as “Can’t died in the poorhouse”, and “You can do anything you set your mind to”, and “No one can make you do anything. You are in control of you.”  There was no excuse for being bored: there is always something to do! As a child, I heard these things regularly and completely believed them with my whole heart. Not only that, my dad was a professional athlete, so the worst thing in the world was doing nothing. I came home from school with a list of chores.Then I would practice my sport. Then I would do my homework, eat dinner and go to bed. 

   And my favorite book as a child was “The Little Engine That Could” with the quote “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can”!

Many children grew up and rebelled against the demands of their parents. Others of us idolize our parents and believe the greatest achievement is to accomplish exactly what our parents expected of us. 

Now you would think that at my age, a mother and grandmother, I would have successfully transitioned through these expectations, but not me! These mantras became my lifestyle and as I aged, they only became more embedded into my identity. I’m the one you can count on. I’m the one who won’t grow weary and tired. I’m the one with boundless energy, and to me all things truly are possible!  

This past week, my identity came smashing against a brick wall, telling me I had no options. I found myself sitting in an examination chair in the Opthalmalogist’s office, having been diagnosed with a detached retina in my right eye and needing immediate surgery to repair it; and as the doctor stood squarely across from me and looked into my only functioning eye–my left one–and said, “You must do you. All things must stop.”  I said straight back to him, “I don’t do me!”  He responded, “Then you will go blind in your right eye.” He then quietly said he would give my husband and I a minute to discuss what we’d just been told, and try to digest it. He left the room saying that he already called the hospital and had scheduled my surgery for that same night. 

My head was spinning; my heart was pounding; and my pulse was accelerating!  I had 4 grandchildren under my care. My daughter and son-in-law were in Kenya on a missions trip. My daughter-in-law was in Chicago visiting a friend. My husband and I had a family wedding trip planned to Kansas. We had an anniversary trip planned after that, and I had responsibilities tutoring and at church! How in the world was any of this going to work?  

TRUTH BOMB

WHEN YOU HAVE NOTHING, THEN GOD CAN BECOME EVERYTHING!

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

This stark, cold realization I was faced with left all of my life mantras less than able to get me through this trial!

The only path I had was directly to my God. I would go blind without this procedure. I had to trust God and His perfect plan, and not my own. My husband and I called our son, and we held hands as he prayed over the situation. I would have to have this surgery, this night.

The doctor returned to the examination room and opened up with an apology. He said that he overheard the prayer, and that he too was a believer in Jesus Christ! Our hearts were immediately aware that God was in this. I may have been unable to handle the situation, but my God was more than able. There are still many more blogs to share, full of details of God’s provision and going before us, and me having a successful surgery. But for today, the greatest truth I learned is trusting in God over anything else I had ever known, or practiced, or learned. 

I look forward to sharing my journey on this experience, as this is a long recovery process. I know that God has much to teach me and to share with you. My prayer for you this week is that, whatever you encounter, you may feel like you have nothing, but that is the moment when God can become everything for you. God is my everything, and I am so eternally thankful!

Speak Truth Love