On Sunday, September 27, I woke up to a message that my dad was in the hospital with a suspected gall bladder attack. By late Tuesday morning, I was rushing out of the office without any clue when I would be back. That night, we truly thought we were saying goodbye. We called my sister and my dad’s siblings, who all rushed to town to find my dad sedated and intubated with a pretty bleak prognosis. Every time I asked someone for prayers, I said, “we need a miracle.”
The saga took many twists and turns that are too numerous and unwieldy to detail on this page. At one point while he was in the ICU, we were told that he was in the room where they put the most severe cases.
Somehow, some way, however, everyday brought a little bit more progress. From dad wiggling his toes that he couldn’t move the day before to being able to come off the ventilator within less than 48 hours, we experienced lots of what I can only describe as tiny miracles.
On Monday, October 12, Dad was finally able to move from the hospital to rehab. Defying all odds, he then came home from rehab on Friday, October 23. As I was updating friends and family, I said, “I think we got our miracle.”
After everything my dad went through between September-October, there’s no reason he should still be with us today, and yet, I’ve gotten to see Eliza climb into his lap multiple times. We’ve talked about sermons and politics. We even celebrated Scott’s birthday together.
Not only that, but he continues to shock every doctor with the progress he is making now that he is home. (And he’s shocked me by actually *taking it slow* this time and not trying to go immediately back to work. Perhaps that is another miracle.) His kidneys had “gone to sleep” during this ordeal and now they appear to be working again. At one point, there was potential that he had enough blood loss to some toes that he might go home with his life, but have to lose some toes. That’s no longer a concern.
As I prepare for Thanksgiving, I can’t help but give thanks for miracles. For the miracle of my dad. For the miracles we experience as a country every time we say, “there’s a better way.” For the miracle that God led me here and that, through it all, we have grown stronger together.
I know I haven’t been able to give 100% to you all over the last month or so. For your prayers and support, I give thanks. For your grace, I give thanks. For your perserverance, I give thanks. God is so good.
I hope you know that this congregation is special. That the work we do together is miraculous in so many ways. Like this situation with my dad, I am just so grateful that I get to bear witness to the wonder of wonders that is Immanuel Baptist Church. Thank you.
