Little did I know that God was preparing us for the day we didn’t know we’d encounter. My husband was scheduled to have a medical test on Wednesday, June 30th, and at first he didn’t want me to take the time off work to go with him. I began thinking that I should go with Paul after all. I have found I rarely regret acting on a gut feeling. And this was no exception. When the unexpected comes, and yet, God is faithful, we have so much to be thankful for.
Before the day was over my husband and I found ourselves in the emergency room checking our son in for same day surgery. I was given a bag holding my son’s clothes and personal belongings. This wasn’t part of the plan. Jaden’s anxiety was high and none of us knew what to expect. Only God could know that instead of accompanying my husband to his scheduled ultrasound, that I would instead take my son to the doctor to find out why his stomach had been hurting. Following his first appointment he’d have a CT scan revealing the culprit, appendicitis.
Thankfully my mom was able to go with my husband to his second appointment to have blood withdrawn, especially with Paul blacking out afterwards, before we headed to the hospital with Jaden. It was quite an eventful and long day for everyone. None of us want to face medical tests and wait for results, take our child to the doctor to discover he is in immediate need of surgery, and give a whole bag of blood that will be thrown out (explanation to come). This is part of living through the unexpected.
In the middle of chaos and unforseen circumstances, I see the hand of a God work and He is faithful. I see the little miracles of “just in time” and how I felt a nudge earlier in the week to take off work when I wasn’t planning to. I thought my husband needed me, and he did, but it was more about the unexpected coming than what we expected.
God knows.
He prepares us even when we have no idea what is about to happen. He goes before us. We are never alone.
The nurse came and brought me to see Jaden just before giving him “happy juice” to calm his nerves, and take him for surgery. If you know me, you know tears come when I’m happy, sad or just feeling emotional. I told my boy that I loved him, and that God was with him. This was about all I could say before I felt the tears welling up. I headed back to the waiting room and he was off to the races.
God may not deliver us from all trouble, and if you are a believer and read His Word you know that in this world we will have problems. However, God is the guiding force behind the scenes, that works all things together for our good, even the unexpected!
The surgeon found Paul and I in the waiting room, and she said that all went exceptionally well. Jaden was fortunate and there was no infection found outside of his appendix. Paul and I were able to go sit with our boy as he slowly began to wake up from the anesthesia.
By Friday, July 2nd, my Daddy’s first Birthday in heaven, we found out the long list of possible causes for my husband’s medical test were negative. And while we now know Paul’s body is overproducing red blood cells due to a mutation in his bone marrow, there are ways to manage this and for now, that means giving a bag of blood once a week until his hemoglobin numbers lower. We are praying and believing by faith for healing and restoration so further complications do not occur.
My son is recovering and healing from surgery more and more each day. I’ve spent every night since he’s come home from the hospital sleeping on the couch next to my father’s lift recliner chair, which Jaden is borrowing. This alone is a blessing as it lessens the burden of pain while getting up and down after surgery.
4th of July is different this year.
Learning the art of choosing joy, right where you sit, whether life is or is not what you envisioned, is a powerful gift. There is so much freedom in refusing to let one’s happiness rest on current happenings. Freedom is found in the confident hope and faith we have, as we trust God for more than what we can imagine.
I celebrate freedom today! The freedom to choose joy, the freedom that God gives as we rest in salvation from anything in this world that trys to enslave us, and the freedoms we have in this land called, The United States of America.
Happy 4th of July friends!
May we never stop giving God the glory for the freedoms we experience, and may we never stop standing up, and fighting for freedom, so that the next generation may experience freedom in both their heart and in this great country. With all of its imperfections, America is still, as The Star-Spangled Banner lyrics say, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
May God Bless America!
And when the unexpected comes, know that God has got your back and he’s working things out on your behalf!
With much love and grace,
Joelle Povolni
Note: As the sang goes, “it’s Christmas in July.” Well, not really, but that is how it feels if you visit Australia during December, which is the middle of their summer and our winter. That truly feels like Christmas in July when barbeques are normal for Christmas dinner. I would know this since we have visited my husband’s family in Australia, during the month of December, a few times. It is July now, and if you are in need of hearing from God, this Christmas post may be the Word from God that you need, God Will Replenish and Fill You Up!
