Looking Up

This morning finds me in Chiang Mai after a busy week of hospital visits and shopping. God has been so good to me. I had an MRI done on my back, and it shows a herniated disk. When I talked to the doctor about it, I was terribly discouraged…no lifting, no bending over…things will not get better, just worse, surgery is expensive and might not help at all. I came back to my room feeling hopeless.But, God is never discouraged, and He knows just what He is doing. He also only has our best good in mind. After a visit to the physical therapist, and taking some medication to control the swelling and muscle spasms, things are looking up! I was able to start thinking about what I can do to make my home more back friendly. After three years of doing everything on the floor, I can’t help but be a bit excited about that idea… no more sitting on the floor all the time, maybe even no more sleeping on the floor? (Can you feel my excitement building???) I have not yet figured out how to pick up Destiny without bending over, but I am sure that we can come up with a good solution to the problem.To make things even more cheery, God sent another missionary family to my rescue. They live here in Chiang Mai, and it seems to be their greatest joy in life to take wiggly, fussy babies off of hurting people’s hands, and make them happy! They have fed us, begged to help with the kids, and been so helpful. And, this is the part that amazes me…the father of the family is a chiropractor, and is helping me to deal with my back issues, and giving me ideas of what I can do to NOT be in pain the rest of my life. Isn't God marvelous? I have to be the first one to tell you; when you work for God, He takes REALLY good care of you!So, although at the moment I still have a lot of pain, I also have a lot of hope. If life were easy, we would not feel our need of God as much. Pain, suffering, and hard times are an opportunity for God to hold us in his arms and show us how much he loves us. And let me tell you, He loves us a lot!