Praise in the Middle of It

On Monday evening I left Stockdale and drove a few hours away to see my parents. My mom was scheduled to have knee replacement surgery on Tuesday. It is a fairly routine surgery, and she already had the other knee replaced, so the expectation was that things would go smoothly, I’d help my dad get her home, and I’d be back on the road to return to Stockdale by Wednesday morning.

Things were going as planned. The surgeon came out on Tuesday afternoon to let us know that all had gone well and that we would be able to visit her in recovery shortly. After visiting with her in the recovery room, the nurses came to help her with physical therapy, to make sure she could walk. She walked up and down the hallway and even walked on some stairs. Things looked good and we were released.

I took my parents home from the hospital and helped my mom get situated in her recliner before I headed off to Walgreens to pick up her prescriptions. Not long after returning to their house my mom started to stand up. As she was in the process of moving from the seated to standing position, she heard a loud pop at her knee, and she no longer could put any pressure on that leg. (Because of the pain meds from both during surgery and post-surgery, we had no idea how bad this pop really was!)

After talking with her doctor, we helped my mom into the bed and waited over night to see if there was increased pain and if she still could not use the leg. She could not. The doctor told us to take her to the ER at the hospital where he performed the surgery and told us he would meet us there to assess the situation. And the x-rays revealed something unexpected. Her femur had broken! Not only that, but the femur was next to her knee and not on top of it, where it should be.

So, surgery number two was imminent. At the time the doctor wasn’t sure what type of surgery he was going to perform. Would he be able to put pins in the femur and a metal plate to keep it in place? Or would he have to replace part of the femur and part of the tibia with steel and put in a hinge knee? The first option would be easier, but the second option is what was necessary. The second surgery was scheduled for today (Thursday).

This morning, my dad and I woke up at my parents’ house. As we drove to the hospital knowing surgery was on the horizon, but unsure of what actual events the day would hold, I decided to turn on Spotify. My dad and I listened and sang along with George Beverly Shea as he sang “I’d Rather have Jesus” and “How Great Thou Art.” We followed that with a few other miscellaneous individuals singing songs like “In the Garden” and wrapped it up with CeCe Winans singing “Goodness of God.”

I was reminded of David’s words from Psalm 34:1. “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” David wrote these words while he was on the run from Saul, hiding in a cave, so that his life would be spared.

David didn’t let his circumstances prevent his praise. Instead, he praised God right in the middle of it. Even in his difficulties!

As we praised the Lord in the car this morning, there was a sense of peace. It was a peace that Paul would call “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.”

We had peace, not because we knew how the events of today would unfold. We had peace because we know the One who knew how the events of today would unfold. And we knew that He was with my mom and He was with us. And so, we simply rested in and trusted in Him.

Thankfully, the second surgery was completed earlier this evening without any issues. My mom came through it with flying colors, and she is now resting and recovering in her room.

I am back at my parents’ house, continuing to praise and resting in Him.