Our world turned upside down this summer.
Many people have been asking about my family and John’s health, so I wanted to give an update.
If you’ve followed any of my story at all, you know that my husband and I came back to the States from the mission field with our children 8 years ago due to health reasons. He was very sick and had to have a couple of surgeries. This included removing his large intestine and having an ileostomy bag for 2 months before his small intestine was healed enough to take over in place of the large intestine. He’s never been quite the same since then.
This spring, his health took a nose dive and he began having serious breathing issues (he even stopped breathing a few times!) as well as other medical complications. It was getting harder and harder for him to go about many of his daily activities and his pastoral duties. In July, he resigned from his position as pastor and he is taking some time this fall to try to heal.
Well, that was not on the agenda for our summer! 😊
Needless-to-say, it was a really weird spring and summer.
Everything was put on hold while we tried to figure out what was going on and how serious it was. I cleared most of my schedule for the summer since I really didn’t know what we would be facing and what kind of flexibility I would need with my schedule to help him or to run him around to various treatments and medical appointments. We did spend several days a week with doctors and getting testing done throughout the summer, but at this point there is no long-term, daily treatment such as chemotherapy needed.
God’s hand was visible
I could see God’s hand in the timing of many of the events over the past few months. I was supposed to move into an office May 1st for my coaching practice as well as working as a counselor. The week before I was to move in, the deal fell through due to circumstances out of my control related to some changes on the end of the individual who owned the property. At the time, it didn’t make sense but I really felt like God was at work and stopped it. Right after that is when John got very sick.
So, here we are. Summer has come and gone and we did not do anything that we had planned for the summer. No trips, no business building in my new location…. Just a lot of uncertainty and confusion.
It’s like our world fell apart…again.
During the course of all of this, John felt that he was to resign from his church where he was serving as pastor. Well, that’s easy to say if you have something you’re going to. But we didn’t. And honestly, he couldn’t move on to something else at that point. He needed time to heal. It brought us back to that feeling of complete dependence on God when he became very ill on the mission field and we had to leave with no plan B.
But what about my ducks?
I’m not going to lie, stepping into the unknown is harder for me than for him. I like to have all my ducks in a row. And if they’re color-coded, even better. 😊 John is happiest when he runs with no plan. (Yes, I agree… how in the world DID we ever get together?) I’m not exactly the most comfortable when just “blindly jumping off a cliff”. I like to know all the details, have a plan, practice the plan, and see the big safety net at the bottom where we’ll land. John kept saying to trust God and that he was confident that this is what we’re supposed to do.
So we did.
That’s exactly what we did. We trusted God. It’s been amazing to see how He has worked in all of this and how He has provided so far. We still have no idea what next steps will look like for John and our family, but we know that we’re right where we’re supposed to be. We’re still seeking His direction and walking by faith. It’s all we can do right now.
John has a team of doctors working on his case and helping to stop the progression of his symptoms and to even reverse some of the complications he has. This past week, he was hospitalized overnight for observations and to have a bunch of testing done after he had some pretty serious symptoms show up. We’re not out of the woods yet, but they’ve been so thorough with him and we now have a pretty clear picture of what’s going on and the steps we need to take medically to get him back on the path to health.
God is good!
But, through it all, we once again are reminded that God is good and we can trust Him to give us wisdom and discernment in what He has next for us. I’d appreciate prayers for my husband and our family as we navigate through this most recent unexpected transition. Even though it’s a time of great uncertainty, it’s also a time of great peace. It’s hard to explain, but it’s that “peace that passes all understanding”.
Philippians 4:6-8
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Thank you for praying for my husband and our family! We really appreciate it!
