It's Workshop week...

...which means, of course, God is at work!

I have a million and one things to do to finish preparing. I hadn’t really planned time in there for a 24 hour hospital stay, but that’s what was sprung on me yesterday.

Yet it’s neat to notice God’s work throughout this ordeal. My right hand began hurting Saturday. The pain kept me awake most of Saturday night, yet God allowed the pain to subside long enough for me to be able to function in my role for Easter Sunday. I intended to nap most of the afternoon on Sunday, but the pain returned with a vengeance, spreading to different areas – enough to send me to the Urgent Care Clinic without a nap. We came to find out that the clinic closes at 5:00, so if I had been able to nap, I most likely would have arrived too late to be seen there. However, because the clinic in turn referred me to the hospital emergency room rather than simply being a walk-in patient at the ER, we were able to immediately see a doctor and avoid a potentially hours-long wait.

It doesn’t stop there. Some issues with my IV allowed me to bump my second treatment up to 10 am this morning, rather than having to wait until 10 pm tonight. If that hadn’t happened, I’m confident I would still be there right now taking my second dose, and spending my second night.

There’s more…God provided the right visitors at the right time to help us make decisions. Brenda was a consistent source of information and wise counsel, and my cousin Tonya, also a nurse at the same hospital, just happened to show up for a visit at the same time as the doctor came by to discuss the course of treatment this afternoon. Even more, as I spoke the words, “Alice, I’m ready for my afternoon Mountain Dew,” Tonya was knocking on the door and entered holding, you guessed it, a Mountain Dew.

It doesn’t stop there…God has blessed me with wonderful friends! Van & Jeanne brought us dinner on Sunday night, which was timely since we would not be transferred to a room until 10 p.m. Several others checked up on us last night and throughout the day today via visits and phone calls (thank you to all!). My friend Wayne Conway gets that grand prize, for when he found out I was in the hospital, he went straight from his work over to the church building, cleaned up from Sunday morning’s service, and began creating the Easy Worship orders for Workshop for me, knowing that was still on my to do list for this week and I might be out of pocket for a while. What a true, humble servant!

How can one not see God at work through all of this? Isn’t that amazing?

We still don’t know for sure what’s going on with me other than something is attacking various joints throughout my body. My hands are still in pain, but moderately better and somewhat useful (I can type again!), however my legs are beginning their turn and it is very difficult to get around right now. It may be an infection, or it may be the first signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Obviously, I vote for the infection…

Terry warned me when I started at Memorial that Satan attacks his hardest in the month of March, constantly trying to discourage or distract us right before the Workshop each year. This is my second year, and Terry’s been right on target both times in my zone.

I don’t know about you, but I for one can’t wait to see what God has in the works for the rest of this week. He is going to great lengths to help make it happen!