God is in Control

By Deb Haggerty

How many times do we rush blindly into our days, perhaps breathing a brief “God guide me” on our way out of the bedroom to get coffee and dive into our plans? I was reminded recently that our plans may not be the plans God has for us.

I was scheduled for a total hip replacement on December 20. During the pre-op checkup with my general practitioner, they found a change in my EKG from the last year. Obviously, they weren’t going to okay the surgery until they were sure I could handle the operation. So, on the 16th, I had a heart catheterization. They discovered my blood vessels had no blockages, but the left ventricle of the heart was enlarged and the percentage of blood pumped out had fallen. One of my friends quipped, “Of course, you have a big heart!”

The surgery was okayed and proceeded as scheduled. I was recovering ahead of schedule and at my three-week checkup on the 11th, the surgeon told me I was good to go and he’d see me in a month. Visiting nurses checked me one last time on the 12th and discharged me. All was well in my world and I was plunging into the work and writing I had planned.

4:05 a.m., Friday the 13th, I woke up with a racing heart–really racing! We called 911 and I went by ambulance to the ER. Three hours later they managed to get my heart back into sinus rhythm. The cardiologist, suspicious of the cause, ordered ultrasounds of my legs and a chest scan. He told us, “Number one, it could be just an isolated event; number two, its’ a clot; number three, it’s a clot; number four, it’s a clot. He was correct; in fact, I had two clots in my upper leg and a pulmonary embolism in my right lower lung. Many blood tests later, I came home on the evening of the 17th.

I tell you all this to tell you I believe God knew what would happen and had me in the palm of His hand. If I hadn’t had the EKG anomaly, the cardiologist would not have had the information he needed for his diagnosis. It the atrial fibrillation episode hadn’t occurred, we would not have known about the clots. I could have stroked out at any time. I call these occurrences “God-cidences.” He knew, He acted, He took care of me through the doctors and nurses and other professionals.

My life verse is James 1:2 “Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (vs 2-4, ESV)

I count it all joy that these God-cidences took place to demonstrate to me and others that our God is in control.

So, before you go rushing off into your plans, take time to stop and ask God to show you His plans and then “Count it all joy!”

Deb Haggerty owns Elk Lake Publishing, Inc., an independent, royalty-paying house that “Publishes the Positive.” ELPI contracts new and experienced writers and publishes all genres of Christian fiction and nonfiction. Deb and her husband, Roy, have been married for thirty-three years and live in Plymouth, MA, with Coki the Dog.