Encounters with the Most High God

In the past week, I’ve had two experiences that reaffirmed my faith that God is in control, He has a plan and I just need to trust Him.

On Tuesday of this week, I hosted a playdate at my house for the ladies who sit at my table at MOPS.  While I’m no longer in charge of MOPS, I did agree to stay on as a table leader to help the new MOPS leader with her transition this year.  As this is my sixth year of MOPS, I’m definitely one of the old-timers at this point. 

But back to the story…  Seven ladies and their nine children poured into my house that morning.  I had a full brunch for the ladies in the dining room, coloring books laid out on the kitchen table and for two hours, the moms visited while the children played in our playroom (nothing like a room full of toys you’ve never seen before to keep 4-year-olds occupied!). 

As we were chatting, one of the moms mentioned that she had been a Labor and Delivery nurse at the hospital where I gave birth to Baby Girl.  We were talking about delivering babies and she mentioned some rare complications.  I was listening along when I heard her say, “some people even have what’s called a window”. 

 A window is when your uterus is stretched so thin that the doctor can see the baby through it. In Baby Girl’s case, they could see her hand.

“I had that” I piped up. 

She looked at me with big eyes and said, “What year was that?”

“2008”, I said. 

As she started to reply “I was there ..” I thought she would say “I was there in the operating room that day” but instead she said, “I was there then and I remember hearing about you”. 

Hearing about me?  Was this really that rare of a complication? 

“Yes,” she said “and most times, by the time you realize you have it, it is too late for both you and the baby”.

I was stunned.  I always knew that things had become serious while I was in the operating room for my c-section.  I even had nurses who came to me after Baby Girl’s birth and told me “I’ve never seen a window before!”  And the doctor did mention that I probably shouldn’t have any more children – but I wasn’t planning to anyway so that wasn’t a big deal to me.  But I didn’t think it was something that could have killed me.  I was overcome with gratitude for God rescuing me from a situation that could have easily ended my life.  I was so thankful for the skilled surgeon who knew just how to handle it.  And then I thought, how many times does God rescue us without us even realizing it?  How many times has God intervened to protect us from something bad happening to us or to someone we love?  Is this one of the things that will be revealed to us when we get to Heaven?  This experience reminded me that each of us has a purpose – that God has reasons for everything He does and nothing happens by mistake...which takes me to the next instance…

Today I was on Facebook and happened to see one of my friends mention my name in a comment on a post.  They didn’t tag me, I just saw them write “You should ask SB”.  When I looked at the post to see what they were talking about, I realized it was a girl in my church, whom I’m not friends with on FB but whom I know as an acquaintance.  Her mother had emergency surgery on her foot this week in the same hospital my mother had been in, and they were sending her mom to a rehab nursing facility and asking her to pick one.  Her mother has asked her to help her decide on a facility, but this girl has five children and taking tours of three nursing homes with five children just wasn’t possible. 


I called her and talked to her about it and was able to share my experiences with her from touring these facilities for my mom.  She was very appreciative, and I felt like I was able to use some of what I went through with my mom for good.  Yes, it was a pain in the neck last summer when I hauled my two kids around touring nursing homes, but I was able to help someone with that knowledge today, so that makes it worth it to me.  As I’ve said before, God can redeem any situation and use it for His purpose.  Today I saw that first-hand.

Now please know that I am truly writing this more for me than for anyone.  I need reminding of these truths more often than I’d like to admit.  And right now, we are gearing up for another medical adventure.  My mom is scheduled for more surgery on her foot in February.  She’ll be getting pins and steel rods to help her bones in her foot heal correctly.  She’ll be in a nursing home again for a while, but after she heals, which should take about 3 months, she should be able to walk again, drive again and get back to life, which would be a huge blessing because this has been an awfully long road for her.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”