Don’t you hate getting interrupted?
How many times have you said, “I don’t have time for this in my life right now?” Honestly, when do we ever have time for interruptions?
A little over a year ago, I received a phone call from my dad telling me Mom had been admitted to the ICU for unexpected triple by-pass surgery. I hung up the phone immediately, packed my bags and headed to the hospital two hours away.
I was panicked!
Speeding down the highway, fear and anxiety tormented me. As you can imagine, I don’t do well with hospitals after spending almost four weeks in a coma on life-support. It’s just not my thing. But no matter if it was my thing or not it was getting ready to be my thing real quick.
It felt surreal walking into the ICU to see mom lying in bed hooked up to monitors and IVs. It was heartbreaking.
Her surgery turned out to be a success, however weeks later after getting her settled in at home, I received another phone call, “Your mother has had a heart attack. She’s in the ambulance now.”
I fell to the floor in shock and pure exhaustion.
On my way back to the ICU, I was determined not to leave her side. I stayed by her bed day and night. I’ll never forget those dark nights watching the monitors and praying, “Lord, save her.” Tears flooded my face and soul. “Lord, thank you for healing me so that I can sit by Mom’s bed just as she did for me.” It was in those midnight hours that I felt the Lord’s presence and his gentle spirit hovering over the hospital room.
Life was very disrupted during those months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, however I do not regret this divine interruption. I’m actually very grateful. It was one way I could repay my mom for all that she has sacrificed for me my entire life. I’m proud to say that yesterday; I celebrated with my mom at her retirement party! Another MIRACLE from God!
I want to encourage you no matter how overwhelmed you are with life’s interruptions; the Lord can turn them into some life’s greatest appreciations.
Leave a comment and tell me whom you are grateful for in your life today. Let’s cover them in prayer.
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God is great for sure and through it all He is with us. A gift from God that you could celebrate with your Mom at her retirement party. You are such an amazing person and great to have you cross my path. I am gratefully for all my grandchildren and especially our four youngest who are adopted a extra blessing from God. Blessings & prayers on your day.
Marilyn (OBS Group Leader)
Marilyn, thank you for commenting. The same goes for you! I’m glad we have crossed paths 🙂 Lifting up your grandchildren in prayer today.
Your story demonstrates how there is strength in praising God while in a difficult situation! Your mom was blessed to have you, you to have her, and both of you to gain strength from The Lord. What would life be like without interruptions? Like someone coming to my house early in the morning looking for their pet rabbit, who traveled 8 houses to rest in our yard. If this lady would not have come to my home, I would have missed an opportunity to make a friend, when I was new to the area and very lonely. Praise God for the interruptions because they give us perspective and encourage us to give thanks! God even uses bunnies to answer prayers!!!
Denise, the next time I get interrupted I’m going to think about cute little bunnies 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
I sat by my dad’s bed in 2010 for a month before he died. Stroke, heart infection, too much for his body to handle. I prayed for God’s will and I believe that is what was to happen. I would not trade a minute of that time at his side and it prepared me for so much more that has happened since then. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Mary, I am in agreement with you….I would not trade any of the days by my moms side either. Thank you for sharing your beautiful heart.
Thank you, Linda, for sharing this moving story. It has encouraged me to slow down and actually look at my interruptions and seek the nugget of appreciation that is buried within them. I am thankful for my husband and family. Please keep us in your prayers as we grow in our faith.
Denise, I’m praying for your husband and family to grow abundantly in their faith and trust in Jesus. Thank you for being a part of my blog community.
I am so grateful for so many people in my life. My husband, son, daughter-in-love(we say that instead of daughter-in-law), sisters and their husbands, cousins, friends in Christ, doctors who God gave the knowledge to help me during my cancer and other illnesses, people I meet everyday who show me examples of God’s love and yes, I am thankful for those who I can show God’s love to through actions, words or just a smile.
So many people to be thankful for. The list goes on and on……. 🙂 Linda, I am grateful for you and other Bible Study teachers, too. 🙂
Melissa, I am thankful for you too! I am lifting everyone you mentioned up in prayer today. May God bless you all. ((hugs))
Wonderful reminder that it’s not my plan – but His! And he can take any situation and use it for His good.
Who am I grateful for that God has put in my life? It would have to be my Pastor Scott Wildenberg and his wife Wendy, and my friend Ruth, because God has used these three to help me understand my Identity as a Child of God. I’m so grateful as well for Jesus because of what he did on the cross he paid the fee for my adoption so I could be a Kings kid. The next to people I’m grateful are my two adult children Danielle, and Michael. They are true blessing in my life.
Linda, your story is one of God’s healing and love for His people. You and your family has survived some of the darkest hours! Praise Him! I will continue to pray for you all! I would have to say I’m grateful for my mother and my paternal grandmother, both succumbed to cancer. I lost my mother at 11, and my grandmother at 16. Both instilled God in me and taught me that He is my first true love! They also taught me to put my trust in God, and He knows best. I also learn strength and perseverance, as I watch both slowly die in hospice. Although they were both dying, neither complained. They always had praises in their mouths! They both wore their cancer like a purse on their shoulders, instead of a death sentence. Although I lost my way in my late teens and early 20’s, what they instilled in me, along with a good friend, Kelly, led me back to my first love! And he saved me and gave me hope an a future! As I type this, I have tears of joy flowing in rememberance of the great memories; and the goodness of our Father! 🙂
Dear Sweet Courtney, Wow you have been through so much. I am praising Jesus for you and the strength he has given you over the years. The tears that you shed as you were writing are some of the most precious drops of love, joy, peace….fruits of the spirit. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story here. The Lord has so much to do through you. I wish I could reach the the computer and give you a ((big hug)). Much love to you.
Thank you for sharing your story. I loved how your love for your mom was so much stronger than the fear of hospitals. And how through all the disruption you still knew to praise God. I appreciate your blog. Thank you!
Thank you Jayne for being a part of my blog community. I love having you here! ((hugs))
Linda, bless you and your family! You are truly an example of God’s grace! I too have a miracle that I am grateful for and that is my grandson Andrew. I am grateful to God for my parents, children, grandchildren, and friends, but Andrew is very special! He was born on February 6, 2008 after a very challenging pregnancy for my daughter, Tara. We knew all along that he had a very rare genetic disorder, but we trusted in the Lord…We were told that he would not live 3 days, but through faith, prayer and God’s strength, we demanded that they do everything that we asked. We never left him alone and 103 days later Andrew came home. Here we are 5 years later…Andrew is a student in my class for Medically Fragile children. He is trached and vented, little to no movement, except for his eyes which he uses to communicate via an eye gaze computer with voice output. He is at the level of his peers in all concept development and yesterday was his first day in his regular Kindergarten class. I am grateful to God for Andrew, for preparing me by my vocation to play a major role in his education, for all that he continues to teach me each day about trust and perseverance… about love and joy even in struggles and suffering! Thank you Linda for allowing me to share my miracle with you!
Mary, THANK YOU for sharing your miracle with me. Andrew has given me hope and inspiration today after reading this. You are a true gift from God. Even though I do not know Andrew, I want to say thank you for all that you have done in his life. When I hear about being trached and vented I remember exactly how that felt. My heart wants to reach out and give you and Andrew a ((((big hug))). Thank you so much for sharing.
Linda I am thankful for my Mom, Sister, Melissa Rivas, You and of course my husband, kids (Lauren & Liam) etc. for so many people because they have all impacted my life in some way.I am thankful for the people that God has put in my life that have helped me build my faith and overcome fears and reminding me that God Loves Me and I want to do the same for others in return just like You & Melissa Rivas.
Rachel, I’m excited to hear how you want to use your life to glorify God. What a blessing you are to others. Thank you so much for being a part of my blog community. It means so much!
thank you for your stories and sharing, it means alot to hear:)
I am so thankful for my husband & my family. Missing him as he is out of town for work for over a month, and just asking God to pull us all closer to him thru this and to help us Bless him in all we do. & for this month to go quickly:)
Bless you:)
Four years ago my life was interrupted with my mother’s illness. She was diagnosed with cirrhosis, though she never had more than one or two drinks of alcohol in the last 50 or 60 years. It was a long year of doctor visits, tests, hospitalization and home care. I have great siblings and we all took our turns taking care of our specialties, mine being nursing and medical care. I used almost all my vacation time from work to take her to appointments or be with her at the hospital. I was also working full time going to school at night full time to get my Bachelor’s Degree. I had to drop out one semester when she went on hospice care. It was a tough decision. I had seen so many people drop out and never restart the program. But I had too many other issues going on and it was the best decision ever. I was able to spend more quality time with her during her last month of life here on earth. Our family grew much closer and we were all satisfied that things ended well with her at home and surrounded by family. I’ve always felt God has given me a gift of helping others through grief and the loss of loved ones. Just as most people feel special to be present at the birth of a child, I feel it is a privilege to be there when someone passes away. This week I had God nudging me to write cards to two families who had lost a loved one this year. I had thought about it, but then I kept getting these mental messages that I had to sit down and actually write them. I did it, and am grateful for His urging me to get it done.