Heart of a Hillbilly
"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with His joy."
---Psalm 126:3---
This verse sums up my past few days so well I am going to say it again; The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with His joy. For those of you that know what's going on and think I'm crazy- Hear me out. For those of you that don't know what's going on and are curious- Hear me out.
I'll start from the beginning to avoid any confusion.
During Thanksgiving 2011 my dad suffered from a severe heart attack. He was in the hospital for about a week after that recovering and regaining his strength. It was ridiculous how much support we had from our friends and family by visits, prayers, and helping hands. The cheerleader in me came out to help cope, so I made a sign. :) No, it didn't say "Go, Fight, Win," although now that I think about it, that would have been fitting as well. I put Jer. 29:12 on it and then wrote down all the names of people that had contacted us telling us they were praying.
After leaving the hospital, Dad started eating healthier and exercising. He wasn't happy about the new foods he was trying and trying to get him to eat it was sometimes like eating with a picky five year old. . . Waaaiiittt, maybe I don't have any room talk? ha! At one point during my Mom's loving and caring attempts to make him a heart healthy, yet still slightly taste-bud appealing meal, she figured out how to bake fries. That night my dad got to eat a whopping FIVE french fries. He said it was the best meal he had ever eaten. The tone in which he said it left it's credibility up to interpretation.
Fast-forward to a week ago: Dad started having chest pains again. He scheduled a stress test to hopefully find a quick fix to what ever was giving him problems. What started as a simple test soon turned into immediate hospitalization and the news that he would have to have bypass surgery. After many schedule changes, surgery finally happened this morning at 7:00am. He is out now and doing well. Prayers are still GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! The surgery went smoothly, but the recovery process is a long, painful one. Please be praying specifically that the pain will be tolerable or completely erased and that he (and my family) can stay positive and joyful throughout the whole process.
Now that everyone is up to date on his situation it is time to give credit where credit is due: Jesus. The entire bible points to Jesus. I have recently decided to go rogue and live my life biblical in every aspect of it. Do I mess up every day? No, more like every hour. But the bible is my playbook as a Christian. So I want my life to point to Him. Philippians 4:4-6 COMMANDS us to rejoice always through everything. Then, verse 7 says:
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
I can tell you first hand after this weekend that this verse is true. Seriously not ONE time since we learned about surgery have I been worried about it. God has a plan that was written way before I was born. For a split second I thought, "Should I be worried, I'm not worried? Am I heartless?" Then God whispered, "No, you are my daughter. Your dad is my son. I will take care of both of you."
Waaaaiiiitttt, WHAAATT?? The God of the universe is taking care of me? The perfect Lamb, Jesus, died for me? The Holy Spirit prays for me when I don't know what to say? Mind. Blown.
I am SOOOOOOOOO unbelievably grateful that we live in a country that could fix my dad's heart and that God made sure it went through without any complications. I am SOOOOOOO extremely thankful for everyone that prayed. The source of my joy, though, is Jesus. Had he not saved me, my dad, my brother, my mom, YOU from dying forever, none of this other stuff would matter.
Jackie :)
Jackie, I'm so proud of the beautiful thoughtful woman you have become. The signs were already there as a 9 year old, but they certainly have matured in a way that must make your parents unbelievably proud of you. There will be continued prayers from this household for all of you.
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