February Newsletter, 2019 Rick McPherson
We really weren’t expecting to hear, what we heard.
“Go home, pack some things and head over to the hospital… get checked in… we’re doing surgery in the morning…” is what the doctor said.
It was the Friday before New Year’s Day and we never imagined that we would be singing, Auld Lang Syne, in 403- B, to bring in 2019. Nonetheless the podiatrist said it was necessary to do the surgery immediately and showed us the X-ray and the migration of the infection in the bone in my wife’s foot to prove it.
“Bacteria doesn’t take holidays,” he said. “We can’t wait. The infection could spread to her blood stream and threaten her life.”
Two young (!) orthopedic surgeons arrived early the next morning and performed the surgery and removed not only the infected portion of bone but also the soft tissue surrounding it. The procedure required the amputation of her small toe.
“We couldn’t be happier with the results,” the lead surgeon said. “On a scale of one to ten, it’s a ten! She’ll be off her feet for four to six weeks and should make a full recovery.” Okay!
The first days of the New Year had certainly hit us hard and fast. We had every intention of soldiering on and getting through a rough patch. Little did we know what lay ahead. First we had a non-compliance issue with a state agency that had to be resolved, then a serious legal matter with a property dispute. For nineteen consecutive days my work schedule began before daylight and ended late at night. When my head hit the pillow, I could only recite a verse from my childhood that was written on a plaque and hung in my parent’s bedroom, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3. Nothing fancy, but it got me through. I also remembered an old Texas cowboy who told me, “You’re goin’ make it. You won’t look like much, but you’re goin’ make it!”
As the calendar turned over and the new month arrived, I was glad (read ecstatic) to say good-bye to January. Then, our daughter called, bright and early, telling us that she had fallen in the night and broken her ankle. Now that the swelling has subsided we’ve learned that surgery is needed, including a steel plate, pins and screws. And, she’ll be off her feet for three months.
Did I mention that life comes at you, fast?
You see, no one is exempt from trouble. It arrives. Ready or not, your life can be turned upside down and inside out, in a heartbeat. With that in mind, consider the following truths, taken from the Book of Job, The MacArthur Study Bible.
- There are matters going on in heaven with God that believers know nothing about; yet they affect their lives.
- Even the best effort at explaining the issues of life can be useless.
- God’s people do suffer. Bad things happen all the time to good people, so you cannot judge a person’s spirituality by his painful experiences or successes.
- Even though God seems far away, perseverance in faith is a most noble virtue since God is good and one can safely leave his life in His hands.
- The believer in the midst of suffering should not abandon God, but draw near to Him, so out of the fellowship can come the comfort—without the explanation.
- Suffering may be intense, but it will ultimately end for the righteous and God will bless abundantly.
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