Hosea 14:5
You know in middle school when you go on a class retreat and they have you find a partner and do "trust falls?" This week was our trust fall. The two things we've been looking forward to, with equal parts dread and excitement, happened back to back this week: Pete's surgery on Tuesday, followed by three days of at-home recovery during which our new roof was put on. Both were successful and incident-free. A new knee ligament and a roof-ful of new hunter green shingles, and we're rolling steadily toward Christmas and the new year with the things we'd hoped for safely tucked in our belts.
It feels dangerous to brag about God's goodness in a week like this. As if He might yank the rug out from under us next week with a car wreck or a sudden loss. But proclaiming His faithfulness today makes it no less true when he allows for the next trial. He is good. His goodness showed this week in affirmative answers to prayers, in solutions to material problems, in provision for practical needs. It could show next week in an unasked-for struggle that forces us to draw nearer to Him. It's not my place to speculate about what's around the bend. So for today, I praise Him for seeing us through a tangle of circumstances to the smooth road on the other side.
I'll make my gratefulness specific:
We didn't encounter any traffic or delays on our way to the hospital on Tuesday morning.
Our wait in the prep room was pleasant, even though it was an hour longer than expected.
Henry was well-behaved for his morning spent with my mom at her school.
I had a stellar book with me which wholly occupied my attention for the three-hour wait in the lobby.
Friends and relatives checked in via text and email throughout the day, assuring us that they were praying.
Pete's immediate post-op recovery was easy, even enjoyable. He said he felt like Adam, coming to life.
Nurses were kind and patient.
The pharmacy was able to fill the prescriptions for pain meds and antibiotics right away, when we stopped on the way home.
My mom stayed throughout the evening following surgery, as I prepared dinner, cared for Pete, and attended to Henry.
We had three perfect days of weather for roofing.
The roofers were safe and found nothing unexpected in the course of the job.
My birthday was spent at home with my recovering husband, but my dad also came over for the day to give me an extra hand. Therefore, I spent the day with the three men I love most: my dad, my husband, and my little boy.
Henry loved watching the roofers (the "meeh," meaning "men") go "up, up, up" and work on the roof.
Without making time for a full-fledged grocery shopping trip, we still had plenty of food in the house for a week of meals.
Our eight ice trays made it easy to freeze enough ice for Pete's wound-cooling ice water pump machine.
The first batch of a prayer card project I've been planning for a while is completed.
I'm grateful for all these things, and more. I'm grateful for a God who cares about details. Reading Hosea 14 this week was also a boost for my soul, an encouraging description of the God who heals and loves. In trouble and in blessing, we lean on the One who brings blossoms, shoots, roots, splendor, fragrance, shade, flourishing, and fruitfulness. When the dew of His Spirit sparkles in our hearts, we can expect Him to bring life-changing growth.
There are a few weeks left in this set of fifty-two. I'm looking forward to seeing what God does with them in my life. Are you open to see what He might do in yours?
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