The Morning After

Sometimes, seeing the sun come up is the most beautiful thing.  When it has been a hard night, it can be quite refreshing to see the sunrise.  I see the sunrise as God's mercies being renewed for yet another day.  Today is the first day on the road to recovery for my wife.  She underwent a major surgery on yesterday to remove cancer from her breast.  Today is bittersweet because everything yesterday was very smooth- but today the pain of recovery begins.  Yesterday was a time of great adulation because God had answered so many petitions!  Today, we begin a journey together back to wholeness and towards healing.

To say that God works in mysterious ways is a bit of an understatement.  We have no clue what God is doing sometimes.  He tells us in Isaiah 55 that His ways are higher than out ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  I am a firm believer in that.  His ways, his decrees, his thoughts toward us, his love, his grace, his mercy, his longsuffering, his beauty...all of his attributes are truly incomprehensible.  Our finite minds are not equipped to fully understand God.  But, God is so merciful that he will allow us glimpses at his awesomeness, especially during a trial.

Yesterday, I saw the love of God on display.  The pastor (Mike Wilkinson) from Grace Presbyterian church came out to pray with us before Danielle was wheeled back into surgery.  That's not so grand in and of itself, she's his physician and they have a very good repoire, but while he was praying, the nurses and the anesthetists joined in.  They stopped what they were doing to pray also.  His deacon, Ken Moore, who also has a heart of gold, drove him here.  He said they would be here at 7:15AM.  I happened to look at my phone at 7:13AM and by the time I put the phone down, they were both walking through the door.  Love is what love does.

There is this tall, slender, cocoa skinned lady at our church that usually handles the CD production.  She was drafted into service in the Audio ministry by another sister who has been faithful over the years that I have been there.  Her name is Lameka and she is a breast cancer survivor.  I had never held a conversation with her, until yesterday when she showed up here at 6:15AM to support Danielle through her surgery and to offer encouragement for the days ahead.  Lameka showed me that there are some very strong, Christian people that do not necessarily live lives in the spotlight.  She's very quiet and unaassuming but she is also the type of person that can be the glue that holds entire families together.  Love is what love does.

I had already hinted to my own pastor, Edward J. Nettles of Freewill Baptist Church, that I understood his schedule and his prayers were enough.  He has been battling his own illness and I know that early morning hospital visits can take a toll on him.  My words to him were, "your prayers will be enough."  I did not want to trouble him when I know that his health has not been the best in recent times.  When they relocated us to the lobby, who pops in to make sure that everything is ok?  Pastor Nettles.  He could have stayed in his bed but he decided to come and check on us.  Love is what love does.

Myoshi Mumfield is a person that God has blessed with the gift of giving.  She would give you the shirt off of her back.  When the kids' stomachs started growling because they had been awake for several hours without breakfast, she whisked them away to McDonald's to get something to eat.  She stayed with us ALL day and gave her own day up.  She kept us laughing and was a great presence in the lobby.  Love is what love does.

When all of the company had left and I was in the room alone with my wife, the nurse, Ms. Juanita comes in and says to me, "Son, you need to eat.  Come with me."  She escorted me to the cafeteria and bought my dinner using her points on her employee ID.  Love is what love does.

All of the text messages and the calls and the prayers of the righteous let me know that I was not laboring in prayer alone.  Love is what love does.  To all of you that thought enough to call or text, thank you.

My family showed up, Danielle's family showed up but when people show up that don't have to show up and when people do things that they don't have to do expecting nothing in return...that's love.  Love is an action word.  Yesterday was a day that God proved his words that he would never leave us nor forsake us.  So, what about the morning after?  I have NO DOUBT that those words still ring true.  God hasn't moved off his throne since yesterday and he will not forsake us today or forever.  There are some painful days ahead.  There are some tears ahead...but there is also hope ahead.  The hard days will be handled in faith, not in fear.  The tears will eventually be turned into joy.  God will get the glory from all of this.  God will get the praise from all of this.  And we will move on to face more days and mornings after when God's mercies are renewed.  Thank you God for showing yourself mighty and thank you for being here in the midst of the storm.  If you are in the middle of your own storm, God is right there.  Jesus is standing on the bow of the boat talking to the winds and the waves.  Rest in the understanding that God is an ever present help in times of trouble.  He will be there for you in the day of trouble but He will also be there the morning after.