Good-Bye to a Little House

This is the house my Ed built
Of bricks and mortar and beams,
And a piece of his heart went into each part
Along with his shining dreams.

This is the house I came to
After he made me his bride
And the doorway you see is the same one that he
Carried me over with pride.

This is the house we lived in
Together as husband and wife,
Where our little ones grew and
the love that we knew
Has blessed every day of my life.

This is the house I must leave now,
But though I surrender the key,
The loveliest part will stay in my heart
To carry along with me.

~ Alice E. Chase ~

A Welcome Homecoming

I'm happy to report that my DH was discharged late yesterday afternoon and other than tiring easily, eating very little, feeling weak, he isn't having any chest discomfort and is doing very well, considering his open heart surgery was only 7 days ago.

Thanks be unto God for all of the above ~ His grace has been sufficient for all our needs and I am so very thankful :)

Tuesday is the New Day -- UPDATED

 

When you leave it all to the Lord, as has been my husband's desire, 

it's amazing "being still and knowing that HE is God

 or "standing STILL and seeing His salvation"!!

We've been told that DH's new surgery day is Tuesday and the surgeon is NOT the same as the very experienced one who spoke to us last week.

Rather, it's going to be one of the 2 who did both my LVAD [mechanical heart pump] surgery as well as my heart transplant surgery . . . and for that, we are delighted and thankful to the Lord for arranging all this in His own way and His own time :) 

UPDATE

Thanks to all of you for your prayer!  The surgery went well and the Lord kept my mind and heart at peace during the entire waiting time. 

Now begins the long road to recovery which is proving a little bumpier than we had anticipated .... But HE knows, and is overall - Blessed be His name!

Updated Prayer Request

The dye test was done and there are no blockages and the ONLY thing wrong with his heart is this valve being almost non-fuctional -- which they believe stems directly from his childhood heart murmur. 

In those days they told people that they should not worry or pay attention to heart murmurs because nothing ever comes of them.  As it turns out, this can happen in some cases!

The surgeon spoke to both of us on Wednesday and set our minds at rest explaining and describing everything. He was one of the pioneers of the heart transplant program in our province and has many years of experience and even I had him on occasion during my experience receiving a heart transplant 7 years ago.

Then ... it was discovered that what my husband thought was just a rash from laying down in bed these past 10 days turns out to be SHINGLES so his surgery has been postponed until next week ... possibly Monday or Tuesday but we have not been given the word yet.

The Lord is graciously sustained both of us .... as long as I keep my eyes on Him, I can feel His everlasting arms and grace .... when I let my eyes wander onto my circumstances, I falter .... and as one dear reader  has shared with me, the illness of a believer always opens up avenues of sharing the grace and mercy of God in circumstances such as this and that is something to be truly thankful for!!

Prayer Request

Encaustic Painting Entitled CONSOLATION by Me :)

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post ~ my dear husband has been in the hospital since Saturday and after many cardiac tests, doctors have discovered that he has AORTIC STENOSIS which had begun to cause weakening of his heart muscle and congestive heart failure.

He has been transferred to our large cardiac center and will soon be undergoing a dye test to see if there are any blockages before they do open heart surgery to replace his AORTIC VALVE.

Prayer would be most appreciated for him as he goes through this test and subsequent surgery -- that the Lord would direct the surgeons' hands, and for me and our children as we weather this storm.

The encaustic painting above that I completed with a small iron and melted wax shortly before Christmas is how I feel most of the time ~ that the Lord is comforting me and carrying me in His everlasting arms and we both know that He holds all things in His hands and that everything is for a purpose but it's all still a little scary.

Thank you so much!!

A Rainy Day on Snow

Art copyright Simie Maryles

Our temps have been fluctuating from freezing cold to mid-range and lots of snow to what it is today ~ RAIN - RAIN - RAIN!!

Just a couple of days ago looking outside was a like a picture on a postcard ~ all white, the snow glistening in the sun and freezing cold ... today it's raining and much of the snow has disappeared.  The trouble is that by late afternoon, the temps could drop enough that those wet roads become a bit treacherous, even with good snow tires on :(

I just left a response to Deby's message regarding still being married after 32 years and how it was all of the Lord, and thought I'd share a few of my thoughts here with everyone.

In regard to everything in our lives, even we as Christians, as long as we are alive, we have the same heart inside of us that we did when the Lord first saved us.

We need to continue keeping our eyes on Him and His Word, that we might be preserved in this day of departure and weakness, for we are human and as long as we are living, we are capable of anything -- the Lord reminds me daily of what's inside my heart so I know this is true.

It's the LOVE of CHRIST that CONSTRAINS me!

2 Corinthians 5:14

From the 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary, I read this:

• in a general sense, to strain; to press; to urge; to drive; to exert force, physical or moral, either in urging to action or in restraining it.  

I was very pointedly touched by this definiton because the love of Christ constraining me causes me to act in ways contrary to my sinful nature:

• To produce in opposition to nature.

I'm thankful to Him each and every day, that He is willing and able to keep me and strengthen me and when I make mistakes along the way, He is ready to forgive and keep me going on ...