I can still remember the day, more than 20 years ago, when my Mom had a massive stroke. It was almost surreal, as if it was happening to someone else.
She was completely paralyzed on her right side, and the doctors told us she would never walk again. Though it was overwhelming, we were just happy she was alive. Then, as her hospital stay went from days to weeks, and from weeks to months, being in the hospital began to feel almost normal. It was, definitely, a new kind of normal in our lives.
I believed God was in control, and there was a peace that permeated my worries. Still, there was one night when fear struck my soul to the core, and I could hardly breathe.
After a long day at the hospital, Dad and I went home to get some rest. As I walked upstairs to my room, it hit me, MY MOM’S IN THE HOSPITAL AND SHE’S NOT COMING HOME ANY TIME SOON!
Funny, that after practically living in the hospital for weeks and feeling at peace, I finally felt scared.
My mom, like most moms, was the fixer in my life. She cooked my breakfast, did the laundry, soothed my worries, and tended to my scrapes and bruises, as well as the countless other things that moms do.
My fear came when I realized this was too big for her to fix. She was too sick to be a fixer for me.
My first instinct was to run downstairs and get Dad. He’d know what to do. He was a fixer, too. He could comfort me, and tell me it was going to be alright!
Before I could take a step toward the stairs, God whispered to my soul that Dad wasn’t the one to fix this for me. This had happened to him, too. Mom was his best friend, his sweetheart, and he was feeling pain, just like me. To run downstairs and dump all of my fears on him just wouldn’t be right.
That’s when I realized that, for the first time in my life, all I had was God, and all I needed was God. He was my fixer for this difficult situation.
I knelt by my bed and called out to Him, praying as I’d never prayed before. It went something like this “God, all I have is you. Will you hold me and tell me everything’s gonna be alright?” Peace came, and I went to bed and slept like a baby, never feeling that same fear again.
I now had hope that, even though I couldn’t see all that waited for us in the future, everything would be alright.
The peace that Dad and I felt during that time can only be explained as the peace that God promises to us in His Word, the peace that passes all understanding. Although there were uphill battles, and years of therapy, Mom began walking again, talking again, and looked so great at my wedding, no one could even imagine all that she’d been through. She was a walking miracle!
I don’t know what you’re facing today, but I do know this, we all have times when the worries of life seem to kick us in the gut and take our breath away. If this is one of those times in your life, take heart, the Giver of Hope is the One who loves you more than anyone else. Just talk to Him, because, I believe that, as He did for me, He will hold you in his arms and tell you… Everything’s gonna be alright!
What are your thoughts?