“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

~ Jeremiah 29:11

It is a comfort to me that although I have anxiously awaited a date for surgery, God has known all along when it would be. In fact, God knew that I needed this surgery before I was even aware that a tumor was growing, and He knows the final outcome as well.

God’s grace and omniscience remind me not to be anxious but to trust in Him that my story will unfold like a great adventure. Although there are sorrowful passages and a few nail-biters, those are the bits that pave the way to chapters that are joyful and maybe even laugh-out-loud funny! I know this: the book of my life will not be dull. And, the good part is that God has read the ending, but he’s not going to spoil it for me by letting me know how it concludes. I’ll have to savor it as it goes and take the good with the bad.

So, without peeking ahead, the chapter for this week of my life would be titled The Date. My surgery will be on April 6^th. As I jotted this down in my planner I came to the realization that April 6^th is not just any Friday, but Good Friday. I will be going under anesthesia the day that we remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. (However, I hope that I will not be “under” for 3 days like our savior, but only a few short hours!)

Jokes aside, I do feel at peace now that I can prepare for that weekend. I feel the relief of an engaged woman who has set a date for her wedding. There is still a lot of preparation before then, but at the end of the day, there is some finality in knowing the date WILL come, and things will be forever different.

Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement. Sometimes I think I can literally feel them supporting me like a cushion. Regarding this, I told a friend yesterday that I’m glad that others are praying for me because I find it slightly difficult to pray for myself. I feel that God should know that I want everything to go well. He does of course, but it is humbling for me to realize that sometimes God is like a parent who wants to hear His child ask and then leave the rest to Him.

So God, this is my prayer to you:

Thank you for your providence. I have a date for surgery in an excellent facility in Denver, and I have a capable surgeon who is willing and able to lay everything bare.

But, with these two things I need a third, I need YOU beside me on that operating table, and I need you behind the scalpel. Please give me peace as I sleep and guide the surgeon in her work. Give her wisdom and skill that only you can orchestrate.

Thank you for your loving care over all creation.

Please let this chapter in my life bring glory to you.