BELATED THANKS

My usual Thanksgiving post was delayed this year.  I was busy hurting.  I decided today would be a good day to share my thanks.

Of course, still amidst all, my most thankful is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the salvation he paid for just for me.  I'm so thankful I accepted him as my Lord and Savior 57 years ago.  Seems like yesterday.

Then of course is my family.....a husband who loves, a daughter who made me a mama, one of the best gifts to me on this earth.  There's a Son-in-Law who considers me the perfect mother-in-law and I consider him a perfect Son-in-Law....and then there's The Grandbaby who brings me endless joy on and on and on.

There's the thanks for an extended family...and the provision of health and medical problems with those in this area.

Thanks continue for a sweet church with freedom to worship and a church family who love and care and show it.

There's thanks for friends near and far, old and new who keep in touch and say, "I'm praying for you". 

Thanks for rainbows in the midst of trials, provisions of a heavenly Father, warm blankets, hugs from little ones, and lessons learned even in the age of senior adulting.  

There's so much more I could list but I've found thanks this year especially for medical people, caregivers and health aids.  I've learned the value of cast boots, artificial hips, potty chairs with handles, walkers and canes.

So even though it's 5 days late, I say as the lyrics to the children's song I love so dearly....

Dear Lord, we vow to thank you for all the good you give....for birds and trees for skies and seas, the world in which we live.  Dear Lord, we vow to thank you for family and friends...for food and for your faithfulness, your love which never ends.

Consider....

THIS IS MY STORY

Yesterday I had my long-awaited hip replacement.  The doctor was wonderful, the facility and all involved run smoothly like a well oiled machine, and we were home by noon.  I will admit the pain soreness has been a tad unexpected.  I guess with a nice incision and hammering on my bone, I should have expected a bit of sore.   I was one of those who believed testimonies of "I was better as soon as it was done".  That will not be my testimony sadly.  I have a caregiver who is exceptional, strict, and makes every slow step I make.  And I'm making slow steps.  :)

Before this event, I began some anxiety.  With the chipped bone/tendonitis foot, I had been told to expect a slower recovery.   My post today is about a couple of days pre-surgery.   I prayed for some encouragement, either from someone's words or the Sunday sermon.  I got it in the Sunday sermon.  The pastor has been talking about preparing for thankfulness all month.  He read scripture from Ezekiel (I think--I've had anesthesia and my mind is still a bit off with remembering) that talked about where the waters kept getting higher the further he walked...it was good but I can't relay that much about it except to say that during it, my eyes got all wet and teary and a song came to my mind.  I got my hymnal and read the words through teary eyes.  Somehow, the words spoke to me along with the sermon so I thought I would again share with you readers.  I may have shared before but I never tire of this song...it's my story and my song, Blessed Assurance.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. 

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This song speaks my heart--"echoes of mercy, whispers of love, filled with his goodness, lost in his love"....

I woke up early yesterday morning and looked at my email on my phone.  I can do that on my new smarter cell phone that is not an Apple.  My email devotion for the day was written by my favorite devotion writer and was titled "Did Your Daddy Make You Carry That?"  I saw the name of the devotion and the name of the writer and knew that it was not a coincidence. I won't go into the plot but the scripture related to it was "Come unto me all ye who are burdened and heavy ladened...." and told the story of her little boy helping his daddy and chose to carry a huge rock that weighted him down.  The gist was that we do the same with anxieties, fears, and trials when we should be giving those to the Lord as he instructs us to do.  Well there you go....He spoke to me again and answered that prayer for encouragement.  

On the way to the surgical center at 5:30 a.m. yesterday morning, my phone rang and it was The Girl and The Son-in-Law.  They are on a vacation visiting the big mouse.  The Girl was not happy my surgery would happen when she was away so she was calling to wish me well.  She and The Son-in-Law were both on the line.  At the end of the conversation as we drove along, she said, "Let's pray".  Now the four of us and now the five of us have prayed often.  I'm blessed that they pray about EVERYTHING and do it EVERYWHERE.  Usually The Son-In-Law leads the prayer but yesterday after The Girl said, "let's pray", she cut loose with a prayer to our Lord.  The Husband and I were driving along in tears.  It came to me as an encouragement I had prayed for...blessed assurance that we are all in his hands.

Consider....

UNDERSTANDING THE PLAN

Today I celebrate a birthday.  Not a big decade birthday but a pretty high number birthday.  I began the day with The Husband for breakfast at the favorite breakfast place, Waffle House.  Then The Husband and I went to eat a br-lunch at 10:39 a.m. with The Grandbaby at her elementary school.  We did not tell her we were coming and to say she was happily surprised doesn't even begin to describe her excitement.  Since I've gotten home, I've carried on with regular life, not even thinking much about a birthday until now.

The past months as I have said in other blog posts have been hard with health issues of my parents and myself.  Today I was recalling how that I have been anticipating my hip replacement in what now counts to be 6 days away.  It was three months away but wow, how that time has flown.  That surgery was even questionable two days ago when my podiatrist put my left foot in a huge boot to keep it "rested".  You see, I dropped a glass tabletop on it ten days ago and a small bone was chipped while the tendons became inflamed.  After wearing a surgical shoe for ten days and this past weekend with massive (did I say MASSIVE) foot pain, it was determined two days ago that I now have severe tendonitis.  I left the podiatrist's office Monday a bit deflated as I was sure with this large boot and a gizmo to raise my right foot to same height, my hip surgery would be postponed.  I contacted the hip people as soon as I got home and was reassured that the hip surgery could go on as planned.  However, my recovery would be slower since the left foot was injured and the right hip was being replaced.  I was told to mentally prepare myself.  So I'm in the process now.  I know with the Lord's help, we can do this.   I can report that this large boot has made a huge positive impact on the pain in my foot.  I should have had it ten days ago.  Does it look nice and does it make it easy to determine what to wear to keep my legs and feet warm?  No, but I'm dealing.

The Husband (aka The Future Hip Recovery Caregiver) and I have discussed at length the changes we are doing before Tuesday comes....taking up rugs, moving cords, stuff that folks do for older folks to avoid falls, etc.  I made the statement that some days I just wish I knew "the plan".  Then, it was clear as a day of blue sky and sunshine.  I don't have to know "the plan" nor do I have to understand "the plan".  

All the things that have happened to me in the past 65+ years have brought me to this point.  I recall things that were horrific in my life, things that were downright scary, things I couldn't control, and so many other "things" that seemed wrong.  Can I say here that they were part of "the plan"?  I am reminded that when I am weak, my Lord is strong.  I am reminded that HE knows all that I need, He's proved that over and over and over.....He knows more than I do.  So I remind myself, I don't have to fret, I just gotta trust.  The good things that are too numerous to name outnumber the bad totally.

My favorite Christmas movie is "It's a Wonderful Life" and I've seen it every single year.  If you are familiar, George Bailey wishes he had never been born.  Things got so bad with him.  In the way that movies can do, George was shown what if he hadn't lived.  Ahhh....that movie touches so much in me.  I'm so glad for all that has brought me to this birthday.  Like George Bailey I recognize the blessings that come in unexpected ways.  And I am again assured of Romans 8:28, one of my very favorite Scriptures....

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose".   Romans 8:28

Yes I know, as George Bailey did, that "it's a wonderful life" and I am blessed.

Consider....

ANOTHER SPECIAL BIRTHDAY

Today marks the birthday of The Son-In-Law.  The Son-In-Law entered our lives 10+ years ago via eharmony.  The Husband and I had prayed hard for a mate for The Girl that the Lord would be pleased with.  The Son-In-Law was the answer to that prayer.

The Son-In-Law is a Godly man who leads his home in accordance to the scriptures' teachings and in accordance to the Lord he serves.  He loves his girls big.  He is a great husband.  He is a great dad.  He is a good provider, a wonderful youth leader, and a massive fan of family.  Of course, he's a massive fan of sports, especially Auburn and the Braves.  That's good as well as he does know his priorities and has them in the appropriate order.  Most of all he is a treasured child of Jesus.

The Son-In-Law has great organizational skills and a wonderful senses of humor that shows in his various costumes.  Here is this year's Halloween attire:

Yes, Taco Bell.

The Son-In-Law has a huge sense of adventure and is loved by all.

The Husband and I couldn't have asked for a better one to join our family.  We are blessed.

So Happy Birthday, dearest Son-In-Law.  You make us proud.  We wish you a day of joy and a day of crossing off a mark on your bucket list!

💕