Faith Through the Journey

I’ve spent today doing all of the inglorious things I feel the need to do before I leave the house for about a week. Why I feel the need to clean my refrigerator before going into the hospital is beyond me, but maybe no one will find any expired salad dressing bottles in there! I’ve fixed enough meals to last my husband for a month, and he has to travel some, too. I’m very glad my daughters will be around to keep us company–and of course Riley will be SO glad to see her “sisters” too! (She gets away with murder when they come home!) I gave the dog a bath, too–this time without a trip to the vet for a bleeding paw! The house is clean, the dog is clean, the fridge is clean, the beds are clean… guess everything is ready here at home. Now the most inglorious thing of all: the colon prep. I escaped having to go through that lovely torture at Mayo Clinic, but I’m not going to get out of it this time. Oh well, if it helps the doctor see everything he needs to see when he operates on me tomorrow, I know it will have been worth it. One step at a time… Believe it or not, I actually do pray thr0ugh the preparation process. I take God at His Word when He says to pray about everything, and this is a biggie–how else does one get through drinking a gallon of antifreeze??? I’ve never tried the “real” antifreeze, but I still remember the first time I had to do this, and the container resembled the Prestone containers I had seen my dad put into our cars. Perhaps Andy Granatelli could have used this vile preparation to see if it did his cars any good!

Life is full of necessary, inglorious moments, and how we deal with those reveals much about who we are. Tomorrow afternoon I will wake up with staples holding my 6-inch incision closed and a NG tube down my nose and throat for the sixth time. I will have a choice as to whether I feel sorry for myself or trust my Heavenly Father to get me through this–again. Being angry, or knowing that Jesus is walking with me through this, one more time, are my only options.  Once more, there is no contest. Walking through this without Him would be a very lonely road indeed. I’m very grateful that He will be with me through this entire time, even those inglorious moments when I have to walk through the halls of the hospital pushing my IV pole.

Thanks to all of you who walk this journey with us. Each of you play an important role in our lives, either holding us before our Heavenly Father in prayer, speaking caring words to us, or showing us your love in some other wonderful way. We are extremely grateful for each of you!