Last week I was praying that Steve would live long enough to have the brain surgery that was scheduled for the next day. I watched all day as he seemed to be slipping into a coma. I prayed as I entrusted him to the Ancient of Days, knowing that all his days had been written in God’s book before any of them had come to be.
Steve went into surgery Monday morning, but it wasn’t until 2 am Tuesday that we received word that the surgery was over. He has been in the ICU all week. The doctors have been watching closely to see if he has had a stroke. The first day I was excited to see his eyes flicker open for a moment. By Saturday he was beginning to talk, though he is very confused.
The morning of surgery I woke with these words in my mind, “I Am the One goes before you. I will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” I hear these words in my heart every day as I sit beside Steve. Every day I remind him of how good God has been to us. I rehearsed the blessings we’ve shared for 48 years of loving God and each other. They are our Ebenezer Stones, our stones of remembrance. I’m using them to build an altar where we can offer a sacrifice of praise to Jesus.
I think about when we were leaving the hospital to fly home so that Steve could die surrounded by his family. Suddenly, I was stopped by the doctor because they thought at last they knew what was happening. Today the memory makes me smile because I see Steve like a Lazarus whom Jesus called back from the dead.
After Jesus call Lazarus back from the dead He told those around him to remove the grave cloths and set him free. That’s what this time with Steve in the ICU is like, a time to remove grave cloths. Resurrection and the removal of grave cloths, set free to fulfill God’s purpose in our generation!
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