I've Lived Enough Life to Say

I was sitting in the physical therapy reception lounge waiting for my 5 year old son to be finished with his session.  My cell phone rang; the first words I heard were: “Gail, Michael fell.”  My husbands employee, Keith, was in panic mode.  He told me the ambulance had taken Michael to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  Keith would meet me there.  I couldn’t take it in.  Something had happened, something serious but I didn’t have any details.  My mind whirled.  I called my mom.  She was coming to meet me and would take me to Harborview.  Josiah finished his Physical Therapy session.  All smiles and laughter.  I didn’t want to take him with me to the hospital not knowing how long I would be there.  So I called my friend Kim and asked her if she would take Joe for me for the day.  She didn’t hesitate.  My mom, Kim and I all met at a nearby fast food parking lot 30 minutes later and then we were zooming up the freeway to Seattle. 

My mom and I went to the information desk at Harborview and asked for Michael Lampers room.  They didin’t have a record of him.  Then I spotted Keith and he told us that mike was a John Doe.  He hadn’t had his ID on him when he was admitted.  He told us that they had whisked him into surgery.  That’s when we learned from Keith that Michael had fallen about 32 feet out of the tree he had been trimming.  Keith mentioned that he hadn’t been roped in securely and when he leaned back; he just kept going.  He landed on his side and was screaming.  Keith called 911 and then called me. 

We went up to a waiting room near his surgery.  A social worker came and found us.  By then my sister Kathy and her husband Gary, my sister Cindi and my niece Jenny had found us.  I’m so glad they did because my brain was incoherent and Gary especially, translated for me while I reeled from shock.  My husband was fighting for his life.  He had flatlined in the ambulance and they had rushed him into the ER.  They manually pumped his heart and put him on oxygen, and then made the decision to cut him open. 

I prayed. And others joined me. I sent out an email and spread the word of the accident, that Michael needed prayers immediately. My husband was fighting for his life and I was terrified. I didn’t know what the future held, but as cliche as it sounds, I knew my Lord and Savior. I clung to my heavenly Father and His goodness, His faithfulness and His care for me and my family. I knew whatever happened I could trust Him and His decision.

This world is full of heartache and chaos. Maybe you’ve experienced a little of it. I can’t assure you that bad stuff won’t touch your life. That isn’t what God promises. I can’t even assure you that its going to be all right. But I can tell you that God is faithful. To us, to His Word and to His plan. And those three things have to work all together. I read a book once called It’s Not About Me by Max Lucado and that sums it up. God doesn’t make things go swimmingly along for us all rainbows and unicorns because it isn’t about me and my life. God has a plan for me, but also for the whole world. For every human. And He has promises He’s made that He is beholden to because that’s who He is. He doesn’t break His promises. And He has a plan for everyone who wants to receive Him, can do so. Those three things work together and if that means my husband falls from a tree and loses 2/3 of a lung and 90 percent of his eyesight but lives, then God has been faithful. I may not see His plan and how this all fits in with it, but I can trust … I DO TRUST that God is working it all together for good for those who love Him (me) and are called according to His purpose (me). And that’s all the assurance I need.