His Timing

There's never really a good time to have your gallbladder taken out,

Especially if you also have two stones stuck in your common bile duct,

And if you're going to be the 1% who develop pancreatitis after your ERCP.

Yep, there really isn't a good time for all of that.

However,

If it's going to happen,

You have the reassurance of knowing,

That it's perfect in His timing.

Because He already knows what's around that next bend,

He sees what lies ahead of us,

And has made provisions for us that we couldn't possibly know of.

This I do believe.

But sometimes we only see this after it's all said and done.

After the tears and worries and anxieties,

After the dust has settled.

And we look back.

And we realize that He indeed did go before us.

As He did with my gallbladder,

And all that followed.

How could I possibly say that, you wonder?

Well, let me lay the pieces together for you.

Because it may just make you a believer,

In His timing.

I had my first gallbladder attack back in March,

But took the wait-and-see advice of my family doctor.

I was nervous about setting up the surgery,

And didn't know how I could possibly take the time off work,

Or the time off Mommyhood,

To go into the hospital for a two night stay.

But the wait-and-see method turned into the wait-and-you-shall-find-out-the-hard-way method.

And, on Mother's Day weekend,

The inevitable happened.

Nobody wants to go into the emergency room on the weekend.

Trust me.

But, when I walked in, our ER was almost empty.

Unheard of on a Saturday morning.

I was immediately taken for labs and escorted to my own room in the ER shortly after.

Impossible I tell ya.

Shortly after it was determined I was very sick and needed surgery that night.

But who would be available?

I have a good surgeon friend, who also happens to my neighbor, who I prayed would be on call.

A long shot on a Saturday afternoon.

But there he was.

On call.

And ready immediately to take me to the operating room.

And when I began growing more ill overnite, guess who was still on call?

Yes, he was.

In fact, he was on call all week long.

And, on Mother's Day, when anesthesia didn't want to come in for my second surgery,

Guess who pushed and pushed them until they arrived?

Yes, he did.

Or, shall I say, He did.

But then I came down with pancreatitis, you say.

Yes, I did.

And that two night stay turned into a seven night stay.

But, again, His timing was perfect.

Because, if this had happened much later,

We would have had no chance of going on our family vacation on June 12th.

And neither would have my parents,

Who have sacrificed everything to care for me and our children.

Yes, it has been a long road.

And, no, I definately wish it had not happened the way it all did.

But, if it had to happen,

If the timing had to be on Mother's Day weekend,

I cannot imagine a better way for the pieces to all fit together.

But, of course, He already knew that.

And I was just along for the ride.