Prayers and Procedures

Well, a good and scary thing happened yesterday. Mandee had her hysterectomy. Now mind you, she has been looking forward to it for some time because once it's over, it means no more discomfort and many of the other things she's been dealing with the past few months. But...for her husband, it's caused some mixed emoti0ns. I'm used to Mandee going into the hospital.....after all, we have four kids. We go to Willow Creek so often, you'd think we had a room in reserve! But this was a little different. At the usual end of a trip to Willow Creek, we come home with another little person, Mandee is off her feet for a few days, and life goes on. But heading into yesterday, I knew my wife was going "under the knife".

It made me remember just how blessed I am to have Mandee and our family. I was 27 when we got married, which is pretty much a life-long bachelor where I'm from in Oklahoma. I knew I wanted a wife and family, but wasn't sure if that was God's plan for me. After October 2001, that all changed with the introduction into my life of Mandee Kennedy. (Actually, she had come in a little earlier that year, but this is when things got serious.) In the last seven years, she has grown with me through four moves, four different jobs, four churches, four kids (see a pattern here?) and numerous other changes. She's put up with everything from her husband being at work until two a.m. to her husband staying up until two a.m. doing lesson plans. Through it all she's been a great partner and friend. We still find we can laugh together, be really silly together, chase and teach our kids together, and still have time for the more serious stuff. The Bible says in Proverbs 18:22 (Amplified Bible) "He who finds a {true} wife finds a good thing and obtans favor from the Lord". This is most definitely true in my life.

All this to say that I was a bit apprehensive about this "procedure" Mandee was about to undergo. Thankfully, we walk with God and knew that he would be with her when I couldn't. And her OB/GYN Dr. Hix prayed with us before taking her into the O.R. The Lord has answered our prayers! Dr. Hix was able to remove her uterus and save her ovaries and tubes (no hormone therapy!) and everything went smoothly. God continues to show me that when he's in it, even when the storms raging, in the boat with Him is the best place on the planet. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and phone calls, and please continue to pray for Mandee's speedy recovery. She doesn't do sick very well and needs to be back on her feet doing the things she enjoys. She's home now and resting so we're very thankful to that.