ASD - A hole in your heart

When I was 8 years old, I remember sitting in Lewis Lane Baptist Church's auditorium watching my parents in a play, Dr. Newhart.  My mom was one of the nurses at the fictional hospital and my dad played the part of a patient.   As I remember it, my dad's character had been diagnosed with a hole in his heart.  There was only one thing that could fill that hole in his heart, and that was Jesus.

Classic.

Fast forward 19 years, and I'm sitting in a hospital room next my warrior of a wife, Claudia, who is recovering from an operation to fix her Atrial Septic Defect, a hole in her heart.  (She's been an absolute CHAMP by the way).  The surgeons threaded a tube up a vein in her groin into her heart and an umbrella-type of device was positioned and secured over the hole.  Everything with the surgery went well and in an hour she'll be able to move around go to the bathroom on her own.  Tomorrow morning, she'll have a transesophageal echo (TEE) in the morning to look at how the shunt is holding up and assuming there's no complications, we'll be on our way home, hopefully before lunchtime.

My heart is literally overflowing from all the encouraging words and support from you all.  From Claudia and I, thank you so much.  We'll update you again tomorrow once we find out the results of the echogram tomorrow morning.  Thanks again.  My cup is literally full.

Nathan

"I will give you a new heart..."

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

Ezekiel 36:26


On our way to the hospital this morning, Claudia shared with me a weekly devotional that she subscribes to and it contained this #scripturedoodle.  I'm pretty sure my goosebumps had goosebumps.  You think he knew this day was coming!?  I know this passage is speaking to the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit, but these first seven words, given the day, overwhelmed me with the peace.  Yesterday, our pastor challenged us to meditate on these words that Paul wrote in Philippians, 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Challenge Accepted.  

We prayed before we left home this morning, and while we walked to the car to make our trek to the hospital, this verse popped in my head.  I started preaching to myself the promise that if we make our requests known to God, he would give us peace.  I'd probably recited this verse to myself 15 times when Claudia laughed and showed me this devotional.  I'm telling you, the peace that descended on that Chevy Malibu as we pulled into the parking garage was unlike anything I've experienced in a long time.  

Right now, we're awaiting surgery and although we're nervous, God's given us peace.  I am comforted by all the words of encouragement friends and family have given.  I have had countless emails and texts and I'm overwhelmed by God's goodness.  

God is good.  He is enough. 

What Would I Do Without You

She doesn't know I'm writing this.  She's got her nose in a book, curled up on a beach chair.  I really can't write enough words that would adequately portray how much I adore her.  Driving to get a snow cone this afternoon, I could feel my heart swell each time I heard her sing the words "what would I do without you" along with Drew Holcomb.  I was overwhelmed with that thought, what would I do without her?   Luckily I was rockin some of my dad's sunglasses so she couldn't see the worry on my face or tears that had welled up in my eyes.  But as she belted out this stanza over and over again, I thought of her response when we found out she'd need a procedure to repair a hole in the upper chambers of her heart:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:2-3 

The Lord has instilled a peace and perseverance in her that keeps her grounded.  I am blown away by her resilience.  This girl has endured more ailments over the last 2 years than anyone could imagine and  would have left most crying like a baby in a corner.  But when your source of joy is He who is greater, your response is rooted in what He will do through your circumstance to bring Him glory, not the sum of your circumstances.   I said earlier that I couldn't write enough words to adequately describe how much I adore my wife, and these are but a snipit of how I feel.  I love you babe.

Nathan