I've spent the last several weeks thinking about the need to create a blog. Unfortunately, I had NO idea how much time it would require to simply create the thing and make it look like I want it to! So, for now, I'm putting up a terribly uncreative version to provide a way to keep everyone up-to-date on my upcoming heart surgery! I'll customize as time allows over the coming weeks, but for now at least it will serve an informational purpose!
Tomorrow, (Thurs. Sept 16) Jason and I will head to MUSC for my appointment to have my ASD closed. I've known about the Atrial Septal Defect since I was thirteen, and God has made it evident that it's time to have it closed! While the hole hasn't caused me too much trouble over the recent years, my pregnancy made the hole large enough to necessitate the closure procedure. I anticipate the surgery being a smooth procedure, hopefully with no complications and a quick recovery! The most difficult part for me will be the 2-week post-surgery "lifting restriction" that will not allow me to lift my little man, Cale. I love spending my days playing with Cale, and it will be difficult for me to not be able to play with him as actively as I usually do. Thankfully, my mom and Jason's will switch off on shifts to assist us with Cale's every need!
My hope is that during the hours following surgery, I will be lucid enough to post to the blog and let everyone know how the procedure went and how recovery is progressing! I have been encouraged beyond measure over the last several weeks by the numerous calls, texts, FB messages, and cards from family and friends reminding me that they are praying for me! I truly appreciate every one of you! I know that the Lord has every detail of this surgery and recovery period planned, and I look forward to seeing what He teaches me through the experience, in spite of the difficulties that I may face. God has continually used this heart defect over the last 12 years of my life to remind me to be constantly dependant on His grace, His strength, and His provision. So, tomorrow will be no different. I will rely on Him to shelter me.
I titled the blog "Abundant Skies" from a line in one of my favorite songs "Learning to Breathe" by Switchfoot. The entire line reads "I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies." The Father is consistently working in my life to show me that He always has greater plans than I anticipate for myself. Sometimes those plans include difficult situations, and I'm not afraid to admit that I frequently fight the desire to be refined. Yet, I've found that if I simply trust Him, He will always show me how to breathe in the abundance of what He is doing. It doesn't always seem like abundance to me; many times it feels more like trudging through a pit of deep mud that bogs me down. BUT, He promises us abundant life, and when I view my circumstances through the lens of His purposes, I realize that an abundant life is exactly what He has given me. This is all for His glory, and He will be made greater in my times of absolute weakness.
"Trust" as defined in the original Hebrew from Proverbs 3:5-6 ("Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding...") means to physically rely upon. That's what tomorrow is all about for me. Physically relying upon the One who created me to make me a little more whole through this procedure! That's what we're trusting Him for, and I appreciate all of you who are joining with us in praying to that end!
I look forward to keeping you updated on how He answers!
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