Friday morning started off like any other morning. Breakfast to be made, school to prepare for. Along with the normal trappings of the day, I usually check my inbox. On Friday there was an email blast from Barbara Rainey of Family Life, entitled Mothers of Courage. That caught my attention. I want to be a courageous mom. Who doesn't? I opened the email and began to read.
One sentence jumped off the page: The protection of our own lives and the lives of our children is best left in God's hands. As soon as I read it, my heart skipped a beat and it was as if the Spirit was telling me everything would be okay. "No Lord, please," I found myself whispering back at the thought of trouble befalling one of my kids.
Little did I know that just a few hours later, my daughter's doctor would refer us to the emergency room to be checked for appendicitis. My little girl had developed a stomach ache right around breakfast that morning. There was no fever, not even by the time we hit the ER at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Her white blood count was only slightly elevated, and the resident on duty said she doubted we were dealing with appendicitis. "Everything has to be run past my boss, though" she explained. "She has the final word."
Shortly thereafter, an older lady introduced herself to us. She said that my little girl's symptoms weren't what they typically expect with appendicitis, but that they would do a CT Scan just to be sure, and to put our mind at ease.
The scan showed an abscess on the appendix that had broken open. Fluid appeared to be loose in the abdominal cavity. Bacteria infected fluid. By now, Haddey's temperature was 102. Surgery was scheduled for the next morning.
We were never able to get the fever down. She lay in bed Saturday morning, in and out of it, hot with a now 103 degree fever.
"Code Red" came the verbal alarm from the hallway outside my daughter's hospital room, "Code Red." The fire alarm had been sounded on the fourth floor. We were on the second floor. The nurse told everyone to go to their rooms and shut the doors. And wait. The Mothers of Courage message sounded in my heart as the fire alarm sounded in the hall.
Isaiah 41:10 was the message of the Mothers of Courage article. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
For 20 minutes the alarm continued to sound. We didn't tell the children that 'Code Red' was hospital talk for a fire alarm. The adults sat in the room contemplating the situation, praying.
Fearful thoughts materialized. I couldn't move my child to safety at that moment. There was no way. Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not."
She was hooked up to all kinds of monitors and an IV, came another one. ". . . for I am with thee."
The weather outside was cold. Probably in the 30's or so. How could I protect her from the cold? ". . . be not dismayed; for I am thy God."
Where would they send us? How would we get there? the thoughts continued. ". . . I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee."
Would she have to wait longer for surgery? Would her fever climb higher due to being transported? Would she make it? ". . . I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
I rested in those words. I rested in the diagnosis. I rested in the fever. I rested in the fire alarm and in the operation which took place about an hour later.
Haddey sits downstairs right now, recovering.
Am I a courageous mom? I wouldn't really say so. But I am a thankful mom. A mom who serves a God who meets our every need before we even know we are going to have a need. It's true, the protection of our own lives and the lives of our children is best left in God's hands.
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