~~ Praise You in the Storm ~~

Update: Please remember the Freeman's. I just found out that little Kayleigh went to be with Jesus last night. Please remember her family. I have a button on the side if you'd like to read more about their journey.

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I was sure by now

God You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again,

I say "Amen",

and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

And every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

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This song has much significance in my life. It is one of our favorites. Because no matter what has happened to us in this life, God is worthy of our praise!!!

So guess what happened six months ago yesterday?
Yes that is correct ~~ PFA ~~ Patella Femoral Arthroplasty on the ol knee.
Now this picture was taken 2 months after surgery. Looks pretty good huh?
You should see her now ~~ you go girl~~

As I was thinking about this milestone, because trust me it is definitely a milestone ~~ I was thinking about what was actually happening today, six months ago. The day of surgery went okay. We had a few glitches, but all-in-all everything went well.

The day after things started going wrong. I started reacting to the pain catheter in my leg and so they had to turn it off. Ummmm seriously? Yes, seriously. I knew this was not going to be good, but I really had no idea how bad it was going to be.

It was leading to one of the worst pain seasons of my life to this date (hopefully ever)!!

Over the next several hours the pain would become excruciating....unbearable really.....and it left me like this.

Actually I am sleeping rather peacefully here. This was after God and I had a serious talk and the pain meds had finally kicked in.
And here I am before the pain meds kicked in. Yes it actually hurts worse than this picture depicts. It.was.bad.



I show you these, not because I am a glutton for punishment and want the www to see me at one of my worst times, but because I want to shout from the web tops that MY GOD IS GOOD!!!!!



To bring me from where I was in this picture to where I am today is a miracle. In this picture I could barely even imagine a day like today. Thankfully my husband imagined it for me and reminded me daily that it would get better. And it has.



When I was laying in my hospital bed and my hubbi had had to leave, is when the pain really set in. I remember I couldn't move it in any direction with the searing pain. It got so bad that I wondered if this was it. Was I going to make it through this?





I started thinking about my husband and son, and I started to pray.hard. And I just told God that if He didn't sustain me, I didn't know if I'd make it through this. I needed His help. And as I lay there crying out to God, a peace washed over me and the next thing I know I'd slept a little bit. The pain was still soooooo intense, but somewhere in the midst of that raging storm there was peace and rest.





This time in my life got me to thinking about Luke 8:22-25, when Jesus calmed the storm on the water. When I think about Jesus sleeping in the boat and the disciples about to have a fit because the storm was about to consume them and them waking Jesus up and Him calming the storm, I think about His Words after the storm was calmed, "Where is your faith?" WOW!! Indeed.

That is what I had to start drawing from. My faith. My faith in the risen Savior who is mighty to save. The One who saved my soul from certain death and set my feet on the Solid Rock. I had to draw from the faith He had been building in my heart for years. The faith that says run the race, keep the faith, see it through to the end, run strong. I started to do that. It was still REALLY hard. The trip home was really awful. But the important thing was that we made it, and God saw us through it and not only that, but He was with us EVERY step of the way. And I mean EVERY LITTLE BABY STEP ~~ He was there!!!



So I don't know what you are facing today. It may be surgery or illness. It may be a sick loved one or a financial hardship. Or it may be sin sickness. God loves you my dear child. And He longs for you to know Him in ways right now that don't even seem possible.

What you see in that last picture above is hope. When I didn't have much of it, God made sure someone in my life had it and exuded it. My husband is an amazing man. He cried with me and laid with me, and most of all he has loved me through every hard and wonderful moment of this blessing and journey.

Today I am doing well. I still have pain every day, but it is so manageable. I get frustrated still, but it is really okay. I am still using my turnbuckle brace and have stepped up (literally =) my workouts.

If there is anything I want you to take away from this post it is that God is good!!!

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 27:13-14: "I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

I love these verses ~~ child God is good. Praise Him today!!!

Father, Thank you for bringing me through that time six months ago, to the time I'm at today. You continually amaze me Jesus!!! Thank you for loving me beyond measure, and teach me more about You every single day. Praise You, Amen.

Have a Blessed Tuesday,