Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Utterly Amazed

My father-in-law had quintuple heart bypass surgery today. Everything went as the doctors had planned (very well) and after a few months of recovery, he’s going to be just fine. Praise God!

As we were all patiently waiting for the doctor to come out and deliver the news of how surgery went, I found myself looking at all the people that were there today in support of my mother/father-in-law. I was utterly amazed by all the friends they had there. I would guess that there were probably 30-35 people in the waiting room. Most of the immediate family members were able to be there, but the majority of the people who were waiting with us were, the senior and associate pastor of the church they attend, along with many of their church “family” friends.

I am somewhat biased when I make this next statement, but I think that I have the best mother and father-in-law in the world. Seeing a number of their friends who had taken time out of their busy day to come and sit at the hospital for more than five hours really impacted my heart in way that I can’t seem to explain.

As I was thinking about this more and how it really impacted me to where I shed tears of joy earlier today (and now as I type this), I was reminded of how wonderful it is for us to not only be part of the body of Christ, but equally as important and wonderful it is for us not be a Lone Ranger Christian.

Earlier tonight, I shared this same story with our Bible study class and I know that it touched their hearts as well. What a blessing not only for my in-laws to have such wonderful and dear friends, but also the impact that my in-laws must have had on all of these people in order for them care enough to be there.

I called my mother-in-law later tonight to encourage her with this story and to also remind her of what a wonderful wife she is.

I pray that Dirk and I are making an impact on the people that God puts in our pathway and that the people we come in contact would not only be a blessing to us but that we would, more importantly, be a blessing to them.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Daphine,
What an amazing testimony. And isn't God's timing amazing. We take for granted so many times the words we might hear at church, or the circumstances in our lives, but something like this does prove that God is fully in control of everything. It is no cooncidence that Pastor Steve is preaching on unity and that we had time in our small groups last night to share on that topic. God brought His word to life right before your eyes yesterday and gave you a wonderful illustration of His family living out unity. What a blessing. And thank you for sharing that testimony with all of us. God bless you, my friend.

April said...

This was so nice to read today! My brother-in-law had quintuple bypass surgery 7 years ago when he was only 40! I pray that your father-in-law has a speedy and uneventful recovery. Isn't it wonderful when we're going through difficult times and God sends His "army of believers" to surround us and carry us through? I remember so vividly when my mom was in the hospital and we knew things weren't going well. We had so many family members and friends who were there to support us with love and prayers. It meant everything to us and it's something I will never forget.

Anonymous said...

I was praying for the whole family and will continue to pray. My mother had bypass surgery 8 years ago and I know how hard it is. I hope that he have a speedy recovery.

Tonya

Anonymous said...

It is a blessing for your family.
The support from family and friends is important in difficult moments like this.
Brenda

Jessica and Matt said...

Gurl. You already have made such an impact on so many people! You are certainly an encouragement to me. :)

What a great story about your in-laws. It's great that you don't take how wonderful they are for granted.

They sound like they're truly an exceptional couple! I guess that explains a lot about Dirk. :)