Psalm 94:19 “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul."

I’m taking this verse slightly out of context (it comes in the middle of a paragraph on enemies), but it did remind me to trust God in the middle of what has become a rough year here, and a rough few weeks in particular.

Had to have some outpatient surgery yesterday for a problem found after I fell down the basement stairs in May. Everything has gone well so far, although I’m very sore. If I can get in one position and stay, then I’m usually fine. Switching positions is hard. It has forced me into some mandatory inactivity though: can’t lift anything heavier than ten pounds. (Thankfully, most of my books pass that test!) :) Maybe now my other aches and pains from overuse and bad form can start to heal. Off work for two weeks!

My mom, who is 79, fell at home almost three weeks ago and broke four ribs and a couple of vertebrae. She was a week in hospital and now is trying to recover and get stronger in rehab. Unfortunately, she picked up a stomach bug there (and passed it along to us when we visited). But the staff there has been very kind, and my mom is even starting to enjoy herself – even playing bingo for the first time. She is still in a lot of pain, but all the GI symptoms seem to be better.

My dad, who is 85, also got the stomach bug, and it hit him while he was gone to see his sister, who is 95. She suffered a stroke right before mom fell and has been in hospital since. They started speech therapy with her this week, which by itself seems like a small miracle. She’s tougher than you would think! And although he’s very tired, dad has been his usual sacrificial self and set us a very high bar.

All three kids have passed through the stomach bug (we were up with the six-year old last night until very late!). My wife and I have received only glancing blows – not feeling good, very tired, but no other symptoms. She had homemade chicken soup to go in the freezer to help me after surgery. And jello. And crackers. Thankful also for washing machines and paper towels and having excess sheets and blankets. Things could have been better, but they also could have been much, much worse.

The sermon at church on Sunday was about how God still walks with us through our terribly broken and needy lives (Exodus 33). Such an encouragement to meditate over. No matter what circumstances we might go through, God is with us if we repent and put our trust in him. No amount of material blessings or health can ever replace that. If we get every physical blessing and benefit, but miss his presence, then we really have nothing. We have him, his word, each other, and some time and space to rest. It is good.