In my perfect world, Valerie would have asked me to smile before taking this picture. But then in my perfect world, we wouldn't have been there in the first place.
It was not my plan to land in hospital with an upper GI bleed a few days before Easter. But I have learned over the years that my plans, however much I may like them, are always subject to divine editing. So there we were in the emergency department at Valley Medical Center doing what ER patients do everywhere: waiting.
My unfortunately unrealistic expectation when we arrived was that I would be waiting for stat blood work and a decision on an expedited endoscopy. The optimist in me had not planned on waiting for a hospital bed. So I had arrived with the clothes on my back and a cell phone in my pocket, and with those (though the clothes didn't stay on my back) I was eventually admitted.
One of the realities of the covid era is that visitors are not allowed beyond the ER, so it would be a couple of days before I would see my wife's smiling face once again, and while I missed her, I did not miss her iPhone camera. Some pictures, after all, are better left untaken.
I have never spent Good Friday in hospital before, at least not as a patient. It is an interesting environment in which to contemplate the suffering of the Savior and the unsearchable dimensions of his love. Reading is my default relaxation, but the only thing I had to read was an iPhone screen, and prayer quickly became a better choice.
Fast forward a few days. (I'm pretty sure you really don't want the inpatient details.) I was home for Easter, the bleed has abated, and the strength is slowly returning. As far as anyone can tell, I am on the mend. There remains a fair amount that we don't yet know, and additional tests and procedures lie ahead, but in these God-given present moments in which we all live, I am deeply thankful.
Which brings me to the point of this post: To you who knew and who prayed, thank you. And to you who didn't know but would have prayed if you had known, thank you as well. I'll take that kind of prayerful friendship anytime!
And to my best friend, chief photographer, information facilitator, and sweet gift from God, take heart; the best is yet to be....
