Yesterday was a crazy day in my home. Around 3 o'clock I got a call from my wife about our oldest son, Elijah. Something was wrong. He was doubled over in pain, wasn't eating, didn't even want to walk around. He was showing every possible sign of appendicitis. There were a few warning signs the days before but nothing definite until yesterday.
She called our pediatrician, who is a friend, and got confirmation that it is probably appendicitis and that we need to take him to the ER. They were going to have to do surgery and remove it.
I was struggling with the news. As a dad you never want to see your kids in pain and I definitely didn't want my little boy to go under anesthesia and have surgery. I was worried about him but trying to trust God's plan.
As Brittany was driving him to the ER she reminded me to put this out on the prayer chain. I did. I asked the prayer team to pray that is wasn't appendicitis and that he wouldn't need surgery. Not long after, she pulled into the hospital. As soon as Elijah stepped out of the car, all the problems were gone. No pain. No issues. Back to himself.
The hospital did ultrasounds and tests and checks for hours. In the end they couldn't find anything wrong with him. They confirmed that all the symptoms we mentioned pointed to appendicitis but they were all gone. They saw a perfectly healthy boy in front of them.
God answered the prayers and healed my son. Praise the Lord!
This is the second time in a couple weeks this has happened. Just a few weeks ago we asked for prayer for our baby and his high fever and elevated heart rate. It had been going on for almost a week. We asked for prayer, then the heart rate and fever started dropping. Praise God!
These got me thinking. It is easier in these situations to give God the credit He deserves. Not that we always even do that, as many people will just call it a coincidence or give credit to something else. But in these larger, more obvious cases I find it easier to recognize God's grace. But what about all the other times He answers prayer?
Every day I pray for God to protect my family during the night. He is 100% on answering "yes" so far. Every day I ask Him to bring us safely back together after we go to work or school or wherever. He is 100% on answering "yes" so far.
God does SO much for us. Our families, homes, jobs, things, safety, peace, joy, relationships, understandings... they ALL come from God.
I am trying to be better about giving Him the credit He is due. Not just in the big things, but in ALL things.
Take a moment to consider all that He has done for you, all the prayers He has answered. And then thank Him for it. When we take a moment to realize all He has done, we are reminded of how incredible of a God He is!