Ureters, Stones and A Red Letter Day!

I just returned from my doctor at Wake Forest University Medical Center.  We are giving praise to God again!  My reconstructed ureter passed the renal gram with flying colors!  It's not just working, it's working pretty well.  Once again, God has done His healing work.  

Had it not been working the next step would've been major surgery to create a ureter from my ileum.  Very rough surgery with a long recovery.   My doctor (God's gift to me) believes I had a rare, atypical peritoneal fibrosis, a condition known to produce tumors in the abdominal cavity and often on the aorta.

This has been an incredible journey.  I'm not done but my remaining kidney issues are small compared to what we've been through.  It has been a topsy turvy six months.  We have been on a roller coaster that included predictions of eventual dialysis, loss of a kidney, lymphoma, and t-cell carcinoma.   Thanks be to God that He had other plans!  And thanks to the Urology team at Wake Forest University Medical Center, specifically Dr's Assimos and Hemal for being God's instruments of healing. 

I would be remiss if I didn't thank the people all over the country (many I don't even know) who prayed for me.  People far greater and more faithful than me.  It's quite humbling and really overwhelming.  I cannot express my gratitude enough to the faithful---Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostal Holiness, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, non-denominational, but more importantly, Christ-followers who have faithfully prayed for me.  I am deeply indebted to these ordinary, common, precious people! 

Mother Teresa said, "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.  I just wish He didn't trust me so much." Boy can I relate.  I feel as though I've been entrusted with too much.  But God knew better.  That is sovereignty.  Our faith has been tested and tried, but we have not been moved.  Shaken maybe, but not moved.  Pastor, author and musician, Wintley Phipps said, "It is in the quiet crucible of your personal, private sufferings that your noblest dreams are born and God's greatest gifts are given in compensation for what you have been through." Amen!  

As I drove home from Winston-Salem, the hot sun was burning bright in the Carolina blue skies.  I was reminded of the lyrics to the song Red Letter Day, made popular several years ago by New Song:

Every day before the rush gets started 
I get down on my knees 
And I pray, Lord, I need You here to guide me 
Please speak to me 
And something happens that I can't explain 
His Word starts talking to me and 
I'm out to face this world again 

CHORUS: 
I do believe it's gonna be another red letter day 
I do believe it's gonna be another chance for me 
To take His Word and walk by faith 
I got a smile with every step I take 
Knowing He is here with me 
It's gonna be a red letter day 

I had a friend call me up and tell me 
How he struggles through each day 
I told him that I didn't have all of the answers 
This world's a crazy place 
I 've learned to hide God's Word in my heart 
So I can have it with me when the pressure of the day start 

CHORUS 

So many hidden treasures in God's Word for us to find 
The mysteries and secrets that are there to bring us life 

God's Word, family and friends who love us unconditionally, King Jesus and the small gifts we take for granted every day always make for red letter days.  We choose whether it will be or not.  Thank you Lord, for the promise of your Word and your ever-abiding, never faltering and unwavering presence!