The blessing of faith.
THE HEART OF SUMMER
This summer was a tough one and at the same time, it was a great one. At the beginning of the summer my mom asked my nine year old, "what are you going to do this summer?" Her reply, "I guess we're having heart surgery." And that we did.
Two and a half years after my daughter watched me go through brain surgery, she had to watch her dad go through heart surgery. No nine year old should have to know so much about brains and leaky hearts. No man in his early 40's should have to go through heart surgery, but my husband did. They both handled it like champs, but I had a pretty rough time holding it all together.
He was an otherwise extremely healthy man and after lots of prayer and faith that God was going to take care of us, Bill headed into surgery. After it taking twice as long as we expected and learning that there was an additional heart issue that was discovered and fixed, my strong and determined husband began the road to recovery. After eight long days in the hospital (with various ups and downs) we finally headed home.
It has been somewhat of a rough recovery, but my other half is starting to feel like his old self. The blessing in it was that we went through it together. As strange as it seems, he took care of me as much as I took care of him. And by our caring for each other, we set an example for our daughter.
In the worry, the chaos, the exhaustion, I did find blessings.
- My bible. I started an online bible study just a few days before the surgery. I was faithful in reading Psalms everyday. Being reminded that David went through ups and downs, joys, sorrows, exhaustion -- it made me connect to the bible like I haven't done in the past. I know God heard my cries. I had faith that He heard my cries.
- Our friends. They brought food. They prayed with us. They prayed for us. They listened to me when I was at my wits end.
- My husband understands that I need my sleep. He worked out a system with a nurse in the hospital to try and let me sleep one night. It was the sweetest thing he could have done for me at that moment.
This summer is the one my family will always remember as the summer of heart surgery.
