Give it Time

If you don't catch it early, it could spread.

After a recent doctor's appointment that didn't go routinely, I found myself projecting various possibilities while lying in a gown on some tissue paper. Before they had even started the scans, I had firmly made up my mind of what I would do with my new health crisis. Once the doctor was called in to give me the news, I discovered my plans were futilely constructed. The doctor gave me an unexpected "all clear."

We live in a day when sooner is better. Catch it before it catches you. Get all the additional testing done to assure your peace of mind later.

I remember when our second son had spent almost 150 days in the hospital after his birth, and they wanted to extend his stay even longer. There hadn't been a definitive label or reason behind all of his various "problems." I was told that there were still many tests that could be performed in order to give us a better understanding of what we could possibly face later in his life.

After several "all clears" I was tired of the "next step" in testing. There were talks of added needles, additional MRIs and possibly muscular clinic options. Lacking any medical expertise myself, I am surprised looking back at my confident response. It can only be attributed to God's gracious intervention.

My husband and I prayed and then simply said, "No thank you. We will pass." We collected our proverbial 200 dollars for passing GO, and took our son home to rest. Looking back, it was the strangest confidence I've ever had after praying. We just knew God would make it clear if and when it was time to "test" again.

Today, our son could still have many things going on inside his body that we know nothing about, but couldn't we all? We had no idea that he'd have a rare pediatric hip disease present itself at age 6, but God's timing in that reveal was better than knowing at infancy. I was blessed with the chance to encourage a fellow hospital warrior with her son's cancer diagnosis right when our son was having hip surgery on a different floor of the same hospital. Divine appointments are better without my anxious scheduling.

I'm very thankful for the medical world in which we live, but it often takes away from the definition of faith. You can confidently approach the long table with sterilized tissue paper if you trust God above yourself or your doctor. We have to remember to marry our faith with our knowledge as we do science and the Bible. They don't contradict each other. They affirm one another.

Over the past two years I haven't been able to get to a doctor in person when a problem first presented itself. I would find myself overly concerned with the unknowns of our health issues on the road. However, every one of those concerns has been alleviated with time, prayer, and good ole fashion common sense.

Instead of rushing to get answers or solutions, I've seen how time resolves many of my questions. God divinely makes our appointments. I just have to know how to pray in the waiting.

Next time you find yourself scouring the internet or calling your medical friends and providers for answers to your new ailment, stop and pray. Don't rush the prayer either. If you don't have time to pray, then you don't have time to look for your own answers. Trust that God will provide all the answers in His perfect timing, and prayer will grant you peace in the process. Give it time. Give HIM your time.

~Timing Carefully & Carelessly