Most of our
lives are kind of ordinary, I know mine is.
Much of my days, weeks, months and years have been made up of routine.
I get up,
have coffee, watch the news.
I make beds,
do laundry, clean, prepare meals.
I food shop,
run errands, occasionally meet a friend, read books.
I talk with
my husband, my daughters, my family.
I read my
Bible, prepare lessons, teach Sunday school, attend church, pray.
I go to bed,
get up and do it all over again.
Now and then
my life has been punctuated by special joys: like getting an advanced degree, having children and a grandchild, teaching the Bible. Often it has included
difficulties and sorrow. It's probably a lot
like your life.
A week
before my mom died I turned 60. I spent
that day and the next week of days at her bedside. Reaching such a significant age myself just
as Mom was coming to the end of her life brought me face to face with the
reality of death and life’s brevity. I
began to think in terms of how I wanted to spend whatever time is left to me, so
I started a list I call, “things I’ve
done after the age of 60”. Some of
the things on that list are:
·
Serving
on an actual jury and loving it!
·
Zip
lining in Canada with Jim
·
Riding
a camel and a motorcycle
·
Climbing
a rock wall (indoors)
·
Taking
a cruise with both my girls and their husbands and families
·
Tutoring
a lovely Japanese women in English
All of these
have been “whoo hoo!” moments of celebration and joy and some have even been
lots of fun, but not a one compares to living on the edge of a God-designed
adventure of dependence on Him.
That’s what
this coming kidney donation is for me. There
is a part of me that is scared about all the “what-ifs” that go with having surgery
of any kind. Things like infections, a difficult
recovery, or even death. But then there
is the other side of me that views this whole thing as another of those
exciting God things in which He invites us to participate.
How can
Jennifer (my kidney recipient) and I not get excited about what lies ahead when we
have so clearly seen the Lord answer our prayers and guide our actions?
For years it
had been Jennifer’s prayer that when it came time for a transplant the Lord
would bless her with a pre-emptive, live donor.
And the Lord answered her prayers by moving my heart to investigate if I
could be her donor so that everything was in place for a transplant before it
was time to undergo dialysis! What were
the chances that this particular miracle could have come about by chance? Ask anyone waiting on a transplant list and you'll find out how rare it is to find someone, never mind find someone so quickly.
With the
surgery scheduled just two weeks from today Jennifer and I have been praying
together every day on the phone, encouraging one another and getting excited together
as we anticipate what lies ahead.
We are
getting ourselves spiritually prepared as well, drawing closer to the Lord and
His Word in preparation for bringing Him glory in the way we go through these
days of waiting, during the recovery process, and in the way we make Him known
to our families, and those who will care for us.
I have a
friend Lisa who owns a dog named Elbe. I
love that guy! When I visit her house he
greets me with barking long before I even reach the door. Then, when I step inside, he leans up against
me while I pet him, and as I start to walk away it’s as if he’s glued to my leg
with Velcro! Where I go, Elbe goes! I love that about him. Leaning in is what Jennifer and I are doing
while we spend these two weeks preparing.
Where the Lord goes, we go, sticking to Him like Velcro! I'm sure He loves it when His children do that!
There is
NOTHING like a faith adventure to cause you to realize your complete
human inadequacy to go where God is leading and to throw you, body, soul, and spirit on the Lord in dependence! So you learn to lean in – to rest in Him, and
to draw on His resources of strength, power, peace and purpose.
In just two
weeks Jennifer and I are going to undergo surgery. It’s anxiety producing now, and will most
assuredly give us both some pain afterward. But in
the end, neither one of us would want to miss for a single minute the
excitement of living on the edge when we’re on adventure with the Lord!
Oh, my goodness, Dot, you're getting me nervous and excited all over again LOL! But, actually, I can't say I was nervous. I suppose it's natural for one to be nervous when recieving a kidney transplant, but you and I talked about that and, as I recall, we both had complete peace. Oh, yes, the intermittent worries like, "What if I die," or as you've mentioned, what if infection sets in or some other complication arises, did go through my head. But, that I believed we were both in God's hands and that the outcome would bring Him glory. And, it did. We both survived and now, three years later, we are both living out adventurous lives! Thank you, Dot! You're my forever "KIdney Buddy." Bless you!
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