I've Had Enough, Lord!

Do you ever feel like “OK, God, I can deal with what I have on my plate right now, but please don’t give me any more? I’m stretched to my limits.”

This is the way I was feeling this past week with a number of pressing work activities from both of my businesses scheduled and our budget having gone a little askew due to some unexpected, but necessary expenses. Then, Friday, when we were looking forward to getting my husband’s paycheck and perhaps celebrating with an inexpensive meal out to relax from all the stresses of the past week, the call came while I was just beginning my weekly errands.

“Your husband’s been in an accident at work. The ambulance is taking him to the emergency room.”

Since the hospital he was taken to is located in a part of the city that I am completely unfamiliar with, I had no idea of how to get there. I asked someone for directions, but you have to understand that I am directionally challenged and even when I get directions from others, I still have a tendency to get lost. Here I was lost and running on fumes, so I stopped to ask a car dealer where the nearest gas station was and also for directions to the hospital. The gas station was located just a few blocks away in a bad part of town, but I desperately needed gas. I remembered my guardian angel was with me to protect me and said a little prayer. The gas was pre-pay, and when I went to put in my debit card, the machine swallowed my card, and wouldn’t give it back. I began praying and finally was able to yank the card out. I pulled around to another island and the same thing happened. Finally, I went inside and was able to purchase $10 worth of gas with my credit card (The price of gas at this station was exceptionally high, so I decided to get more later at my usual discount station on the “safe” side of town.)

I called the owner of the company my husband works for who had accompanied my husband to the emergency room and he verbally guided me (street by street) to the hospital over the phone and met me at the entrance. He led me to a private room where Bill was lying in a small bed, his legs dangling over the edge. Both of his arms were elevated – the left wrist was obviously broken and the rest of his arm was badly bruised; his right hand was bruised, scraped, bleeding, and swollen. He was waiting to be x-rayed and treated. The x-ray technicians came on six separate occasions to x-ray both hands. He was also seen by a nurse practitioner, two doctors, and a nurse in the course of the seven hours we spent there. He was injected with a narcotic to alleviate the pain. After two of his fingers were squeezed into Chinese finger cuffs, and his left arm stretched, using a five pound weight, he had two splints put on his arm. (The first one was less than perfect and needed to be redone.) The doctor warned him this part would be very painful. As the procedure began, Bill winced and groaned in a low tone, and then, I heard him say in almost a whisper, “Even John Wayne got a bullet.” That’s when we all burst out laughing. Yes, that’s right – even the macho man John Wayne got a bullet to bite when they performed surgery on him in the movies.

For at least the next few weeks, Bill will be dependent on me to assist him in many of the activities that he normally does on his own each day. It’s not easy – depending on others in this way – but it is sometimes necessary. In the same way, it’s not easy surrendering to God – letting Him take care of the things in our lives which seem to overwhelm us. But, we need to put our trust in Him each day, relying on His strength and the power of His love when we face these challenges. Prayer, a sense of humor, and the power of His love will help us get through each and every trial that comes our way in this life.