Theresa

Theresa is in the hospital...vegetation in a heart valve. It has rained record amounts here, but affecting a heart valve? :-)   She has had chronic coughing up of mucous. Her doctor thought as a last resort, she should have her heart checked out. Sure enough - infected heart valve. GET RIGHT TO THE HOSPITAL, the doc said and she is going through testing now.

We are sad to miss out Idaho trip for my 50th graduation anniversary.We have some very special friends there. This might be a good time for you to get a peak into Theresa's "kitchen window." She journaled the following a couple weeks ago. With her permission:

The plane was ascending out of JFK on its way to Denver.  My eyes were fixed on the little window, hoping for a glimpse of New York City. All I saw was darkness and swirling clouds. And then the coughing started. I didn’t think anything of it at first. Then I began to notice that I couldn’t really get my breath, couldn’t really get enough force to cough out whatever was stuck where it didn’t belong.  As I thought about my shallow breaths, I became increasingly worried.  Earth and help were fast fading below us. What does a person do when they’re five miles up in the air and can’t breathe!  Only several years in my past, the mere closing of the airplane door brought waves of panic.

I was on my way to Denver, home of my son and daughter-in-law and four precious granddaughters.  This would be my first visit with them since early October when Ray and I spent a couple of days there on our way to our new home in Kentucky.  A lot had happened in the intervening months, and I was looking forward to a week with them.

The travel plan was for me to leave the airport about 9:20 and land in Denver about 10:40 Mountain time – a direct flight.  Short and sweet; not to be. The plane had mechanical problems, causing the flight to eventually be cancelled.  I was put on a flight to New York City, where I would have a 7 hour lay-over. Then off to Denver.  An adventure, I thought; excellent people-watching at the airport, glimpses of the city. Nothing that day went as I thought it would.  The most exciting part of being at the airport was taxiing in and seeing planes from around the world: Israel, Singapore, Ireland.  I sat on a concourse with few people and CNN blaring loudly through the day.

But I had time to finish what I had begun on the plane – reading the book of Romans.  I was amazed at Paul’s focus on the importance of our minds.  It is the centerpiece, the control tower of our lives.  How we think determines how we live.  I recommitted myself to controlling my thoughts, submitting them to God’s truths rather than letting them run wild through corridors of fear and negativity. I left bathed in God’s word when we finally boarded the plane to head West.

A week before my trip, I was strongly drawn to Deuteronomy 33.  I opened my Bible to it one morning and felt my eyes riveted to the page which contained these verses:

There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides on the heavens to help you and through the clouds in His majesty.  The Eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

As the plane continued to ascend from JFK, my battle to breathe continued. Those verses bathed my mind and I felt no panic, which was nothing short of a miracle!  I finally got up from my seat thinking that I might breathe better if I were standing.  I walked back to the restroom and gasped and prayed to the God Who was riding on the heavens to help me, Whose arms were under me.  I didn’t get better and left that cubby hole to stand in the aisle.  Three stewardesses were standing right there beginning to fix drinks.  I told them that I was having trouble breathing. They sat me in a seat in the back and gave me oxygen.

Ten minutes into that routine, I knew that I was no better.  My chest kept getting tighter and my breathing became more and more difficult.  Finally one of the stewardesses addressed the plane full of people, asking if there were any doctors on board.  In God’s providence, there were two, a husband and wife traveling home to Denver; she was an internist and he was in a fellowship in pulmonary medicine.  Thank You, Jesus!  Someone looked through the first aid kit on the plane and found an inhaler, and that brought the turning point.  Calmed by the doctors, aided by the inhaler, I was finally able to begin to breathe normally.  I sat there, now able to benefit from the oxygen, and thanked God Who, indeed, flew through the heavens to come to my aid. 

I would have preferred that the breathing problems not happen, or that God would have answered my first prayer to take the problem away.  But what I experienced was far more powerful.  God had begun preparing me the week before, leading me to incredibly appropriate verses for this challenge. And then He gave me hours to immerse myself in Scripture that would speak to me about the need to control my thinking, to focus my mind on truth, take every thought captive.  As I kept my mind fixed on the truth of God’s word, I felt those arms under me five miles up in the sky.  That which I have long feared – being out of control – was reality, and God was there letting Himself be felt by me, assuring me that He was with me.  And how many planes have two doctors on them, including one who is studying the very problem that was challenging me? 

Yes, I prefer good health – and calm skies when I travel.  But I’m also learning to embrace James’ words when he says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers [my sister Theresa], whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance much finish its work so that you can be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  Personally, I prefer an easier route to maturity.  But that’s not God’s way.  And I’ve come to know for sure that God’s way is best.