Sunday, May 29, 2011 - Pig's Feet and Flan

June, the day before she ended up in a Miami hospital.

     Today is my friend June's birthday and frankly, I'm just glad she's still here to celebrate it after watching her suffer with and survive pancreatitis a few years ago. She took me with her to Costa Rica on a mission trip when, while we were in the airport waiting to return to the States, she became violently ill. She was in so much pain I tried to talk her into going back into San Jose to the hospital instead of getting on the plane, but she needed to get home for an important appointment in the next few days. She survived the flight to Miami where an ambulance waited to take us to a hospital. 
     God used this hospital stay to teach us He's with us and in control. He put June in the exact hospital with the doctors who had originated the treatment she needed. God's timing meant she wouldn't have to suffer through that physical agony again. And, while our Father orchestrated circumstances to get June the best medical help available, He also guided me through a much-needed spiritual hospitalization using isolation therapy.
 I had no:
*clean clothes:  When the ambulance took us from the airport to the hospital we left without luggage. They delivered one suitcase two days later, but it was the one containing  all our dirty laundry instead of the one with the good stuff in it.
*communication: We had only enough charge in our cell phones to last about 24 hours. Both our chargers were in a suitcase somewhere at the Miami airport.)
*language: June speaks Spanish but she was incapacitated or incoherent most of the time. I speak French but there was only one Haitian nurse on our floor so I listened and learned enough Spanish to get help for June and to eat lunch in the cafeteria.
*comfort food: The cafeteria served Cuban food with which I wasn't familiar. Pig's feet and flan. Not a fan of one and grew tired of the other. Enforced fasting?
*support group: In addition to being hours away from family, a descending hurricane halted air traffic and kept June's family from joining us at the hospital. I've always wondered what people without family, a church family, or loving friends do at times like those and now I know. They're lonely and frightened. I felt the responsibility of helping June make crucial decisions since none of her family was there. At one point her lung collapsed and they came to get her in the middle of the night, leaving me completely alone to worry or pray. The irony was that at this point I had a charged phone but at 2:00 a.m. I still couldn't call anyone. The relief I thought I'd feel seeing her return to the room was short-lived when she returned on a respirator.     
   I learned it didn't matter what I wore as long as I wrapped myself in God's Presence. It didn't matter what I ate as long as I fed on His Peace and Power. It didn't matter that I couldn't talk to anyone at the hospital or call anyone as long as I heard and understood the Voice of "God With Us. 

"'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, 

and they will call Him Immanuel' -- which means, 'God with us.'" 

Matthew 1:23

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, 

rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, 

and overflowing with thankfulness." 

Colossians 2:6-7

Father, guide us to let You teach us when the dark moments come and we feel isolated or alone. You're always with us, always planning for us, always working for our good. Teach us to be grateful for every small blessing and for the big picture plans You have for us as well. Our heads say You're all we need but our hearts don't really know what that means until we have to prove it. May we sense Your Presence, Peace, and Power and hear Your Voice today.

In the Name of Jesus, Immanuel