Pursuing Love ~ Love is Patient (& update on our daughter)

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ast Saturday night I spent an hour in the ER with my daughter who has had open heart surgeries, and also deals with a lot of pain from spinal defects.  She had been dealing with a lot of pain for several days that was not lessening. Long story short, we were in and out of the ER in an hour, with the doctor telling us it was either a reaction to the antibiotic she had been on or it was just PMS.  I knew it was more than that with the level of pain she was in and I was not a happy mama.  I let the doctor know how I felt.

Sunday afternoon I read about a meme on Pursuing Love.  I clicked it . . . here is some of what I read:

I think it’s  the Lord pursuing after  us, wooing us to be more  like Him, transforming us into His likeness.

He desires us to love like He loves.  To love the simple pleasures and  those who bless us. He also desires us to demonstrate love even in the hardest of situations.  Doctor’s that mismedicate a loved one . . .

OUCH!  The doctor knew I was not happy with him when I left.  I was not nasty, but not kind either . . . but these words were a reminder this past week to be patient, as this week for this meme the topic is “Love is patient.”   Little did I know that there would be a lot of learning in the coming days that I would have to show,  “Love is patient.”  On Monday we discovered Jessica had gallstones, and took her to the hospital on Tuesday for evaluation and admission to the hospital   It’s been a LONG week here – she did not have her gallbladder out until  Thursday.  Because of her heart defects and being on coumadin (blood thinner) it’s not any easy process.  Her levels had to come down.  She also had two teams of doctors overseeing her – the cardiology team and the pediatric surgery team.  They did not always agree – they were not all convinced it was really her gallbladder; there were differences on medications; there were differences on when she should come off medications or which ones she should be on; and she missed her first meal after surgery  because some thought she should eat, others did not want her to eat the evening after her surgery.  We were in the middle of a whirlwind many times and even the nurses were frustrated.

I am so thankful looking back to see how God intervened in His mysterious ways we did not even realizing were happening.  The timing could not have been any better with this being the slowest time for my husband’s business.   Jessica has a special elderly friend who had open heart surgery just a few months from hers.  On Thursday they BOTH were having their gallbladders out, less than an hour apart.  When they took Jessica down to the pre-op room, they were just about to take her for surgery, when she got bumped.  There was an emergency trauma and another child needed emergency surgery.  I am so thankful for the peace that flooded us, because a year ago it was the reverse.  Another child was bumped for us, so Jessica could have emergency open heart surgery to save her life.  I’ve prayed often for the child and seeing this in the news we wondered if it was this child.

We should be going home within the next day or so.  We are just waiting for Jessica’s blood thinning levels to be at the right point.  Yes, it will take more patience.  It’s been long nights of many interruptions and late night admissions into her room.  If Jessica sees me all stressed over stuff, it does not help her.  But as I am showing her that love is patient, she learns too.  Often I am told I must have so much patience with having ten children. Ohhhh, no.  It’s being challenged daily, from a toddler getting into things and not wanting to be potty-trained, to homeschooling,  older children knowing more than I do, and now entering a couple of courtships.  Life is a whirlwind!  But I see when I work on being patient, not only does my attitude change, so does the attitudes around me change.  I am so thankful that God’s mercies are new every morning and His love is patient for me!  It’s definitely a work in progress!

Jessica & her daddy bowling on the Wii in her hospital room 🙂