Blessed Tuesday!

Psalm 34:6 “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”

I remember the day Casey and I flew out of DFW Airport to Houston to begin our stay at MD Anderson Hospital. Dr. Adams and the social worker who was in charge of the case at Arlington Memorial told us that we would leave in a moment’s notice when all of the arrangements had been made and all was in place. True to their word, the word came down and we were out the door, in an ambulance and on our way.

Once at the airport Casey and I were on our own. Here was MD Anderson in our future, but we had to get there first. We were told to go to first class because the seats were wider there to accommodate Casey’s hip and thigh. The problem was that first class was full and we would have to fly in the main cabin. I began to pray. Casey was so vulnerable and in such pain and he was counting on me to take care of whatever …and I was counting on God to get us to Houston on an airplane.

When first class did not work out I found the flight attendants for our flight and explained our situation. They immediately went to work to find a way to accommodate Casey as comfortable as possible. They figured out if we could switch seats with a couple of people that Casey could sit in a seat without an arm rest in the middle and I could sit next to him. The other passengers were very kind and allowed Casey and I to sit together. Prayers answered and the path of problem solving had begun.

The next issue was Casey’s pain. I carried high powered medication in my pocket for his pain, but that did not solve the issue of when his foot and ankle would spasm and he could no longer sit. Prayer again. A flight attendant from first class came back and told us that Casey could stand once the plane leveled off. I gave him enough pain medicine to get through that time period and his foot began to hurt about the time the plane leveled off and he could stand. Again, the kindness of strangers and God’s tender mercies were answers to prayers.

The final issue was once we landed, how were we to get to the hospital? I requested to the flight attendant that he ask an ambulance to meet us at the airport. When we landed, there was an ambulance on the runway to meet us and sped us to the hospital. Prayers answered.

I have told you all of that to tell you this…life’s difficulties are not meant to stop our progress. They are meant to help us to continue to grow in our faith and to continuously rely on God’s strength. We cannot let difficulties conquer us no matter how big or small. It is really hard to face the huge problems in life if we haven’t overcome the smaller ones. The smaller issues we face, conquer and claim victory over are a preparation for the really big situations we will all face at some point in our lives.

God’s strength is there awaiting each of us when we call on Him. These issues Casey and I faced on that first day of the journey seem very small right now compared to what he faced over the next year of his life. I learned what “pray without ceasing” really means. I also learned that God was there in each situation and led us through safely. If we fully rely on God and trust Him for guidance then there can be no failure.

Take joy in the journey, wear comfortable shoes and remember that God is there in the great and the small, but mostly God is there for the long haul and all we have to do is call. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.