“Am I not present everywhere, whether seen or unseen?” Jeremiah 23:23
I had to have surgery, which meant undergoing anesthesia. For a natural control freak like me, not knowing what is happening is a huge leap in trust. Especially when I went under with an IV in my left hand and woke up with one in my right. It freaked me out because I didn’t recall even getting drowsy after they positioned me on the operating table, and then woke up in a different room realizing time had passed without me being aware of it.
Not to mention trusting the anesthesiologist and the surgical team to do what they said they would in my interest, all the while monitoring my vital signs. I had visions of them laughing at my cellulite. But of course, they are way too professional, right? Even so, being unconscious and naked under a flimsy no-size-fits-anyone surgical garb is a bit daunting. Did I mention I have a strong sense of modesty?
Where did I find God in all of this? Not to say I go through my day unconscious, but I do walk through my life with very limited insight. There is a lot happening that I am not aware of in both the physical and spiritual realms. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 that our battles are not always of this reality. There are dominions and principalities in constant spiritual warfare. And we go about our day totally clueless of all the ways we are being guarded and monitored.
Amy Grant recorded a song, “Angels Watching Over Me”, back in the 1990s. She sang about how so many things are orchestrated to protect her that she never sees. All was for her benefit and had a purpose, even though she remained unaware of it.
Perhaps you hit every single red light on the way into work, so you’d not be in the blind spot of the weaving-through-traffic driver three blocks up. Maybe while you waited in line at the grocery store as the coupon queen made sure she had one for each purchase, the dry cleaners you were headed to next was being robbed. We never know—which may be a good thing, in a way.
If I can trust the surgical team to do best by me even when I am not aware of what they are doing, then how much more should I trust my loving Lord? Quite frankly, as controlling in nature as I tend to be, I’m glad to not always be aware of what is happening outside of my vision. But I hope I do not neglect to thank God anyway.
This past week my life was in the hands of competent individuals. Every day my life rests in the eternal hands who gave those people their abilities. And I’m grateful my surgeon believes it as well.
It happened…like it always does, I suppose. Murphy’s Law in motion. With a deep smile, I tuned in to TV program I’d been wanting to watch for weeks and in a split second–nothing.
parent realizes pain has to happen, at times, for their child’s betterment. Such as slapping their hand to keep them from touching a hot stove, or allowing them to wobble, fall and skin their knee as they learn to balance on a two-wheeler. Or living with the consequences of a bad decision.
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. Proverbs 27:19
Outside my living room window is a thick, lush evergreen bush. It gives me a bit of privacy, protection, and is pleasing to the eye. About arm pit high, I can see out if I am sitting on the couch, but actually–my son tested it when I moved in–people cannot readily see me inside.
Yes, I love playing Bunco with friends. We share great recipes, chat, pray, and encourage each other. In case you are not familiar with this parlor game, groups of four each take turns rolling three dice. In the first round, you can keep rolling as long as there is a “one dot” on one of the dice. Each “one” is one point. If not, you pass them to the person on your left so they can try to roll as many ones as they can. If you roll three ones, it is a Bunco. If you roll three of anything else but ones, it is a Baby Bunco. Then it is on to round two, in which each person tries to roll as many twos as they can. Then threes, fours, fives and sixes. Whoever rolls three sixes ends the game. Everyone tallies up their scores. The pot (if there is one) is split between the one with the most Buncos and Baby Buncos, and the one with the most points.
many calculable rolls. The truth is, no one is going to sneak seven or eight dots onto one of the die, or erase the side with one dot on it.
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