And I Think To Myself….What a Wonderful World!

And I Think To Myself, “What a Wonderful World”

It was our first morning home after being in the hospital the two weeks before. We spent our first night home – my Honey, on his new hospital air bed, and me, on a blow-up air mattress beside him…..that the air escaped from in the middle of the night. I added to my “To Do List” for the day….find a twin mattress set as soon as possible. Indeed we would be like Desi and Lucy in our twin beds – I’m still contemplating dyeing my hair red. It was a new day…a whole new adventure lay ahead of us!

I can’t even imagine all that must have been going on in my Honey’s head as he looked out our bedroom double windows that were open wide. What a special blessing it is that our bedroom windows face the little lake adjoining our back yard (the accompanying picture is that view). It was a beautiful morning. Fall was in the air. The water was smooth as glass, the fish were jumping, and the birds were chirping loudly. Feeling the serenity of the moment calmed us and made us very aware of how blessed we are and how thankful we must be in spite of our new circumstances that seemed like a bad dream. It was then that the doorbell rang. It was our new Social Worker, Melvin – a beautiful African American man, who exuded the most sweet and gentle spirit that made us feel God had specially hand-picked him just for us. After asking us many questions, it was our turn to ask about him. When he mentioned that he loves singing in his church’s choir, I told him I’d love for him to sing for us. He didn’t wait to be asked twice. He immediately began singing in the most beautiful baritone voice, Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”. Just imagine our thoughts as we heard these words:

I see trees of green, red roses, too.
I see them bloom for me and you.
And I think to myself, “what a wonderful world”.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.
And I think to myself, “what a wonderful world”.

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,
Are also on the faces of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands, saying “How do you do?”
They’re really saying “I love you”

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself, “what a wonderful world”.
Yes I think to myself, “what a wonderful world”.

How befitting to hear such words as we had already been experiencing that wonderful world as we looked outside at God’s creation, on this, our first morning home. It was another one of those precious times when we knew God was orchestrating our lives.

Right from the beginning of our journey until today, different ones have quoted Psalm 46:10 to us “Be still and know that I am God.”. In our efforts to help God out with His plans over the last eight months, we became very busy with many doctors’ appointments, treatments, medications, consultations, surgeries, seeking advice from experts on what to eat or not eat, and so much more. Suddenly, in the quietness of our bedroom, we realized that God was speaking loud and clear to us. He was saying…..”at last….you’re still…now you will know that indeed I AM GOD.” A dear family friend and renown motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, puts it this way: “God created us as human beings…not human doings.” We have been “doing” much more than required over the last several months. Now, we have the opportunity to BE in that place where we really can know God and His character and His profound love for us. We have ceased striving and are now pursuing that place of contentment and peace. And in that place, we also expect that we will be able to accomplish more for God and be used by Him to encourage and help others even more than we did before. That’s our hope and greatest desire.

Now we’ve been home for two weeks. My Honey has amazed me with his new found way of life. Amazing, in that this highly energetic, multi-talented, can-do-anything, man has always been known as a Type A personality – in control with everything about his life, detailed to the inth degree, and always motivating and encouraging others with the words “no matter what your circumstances are, you can be all God destined you to be….just never give up!” Now he quietly lays in his bed, unable to move his legs and unable to sit up, occasionally picks up the phone to make or receive a call, checks his emails, prays, listens for God’s voice and calls upon me or another to fetch something for him or to adjust his position in the bed. He does not complain about this new “state” of living. We look back on the previous nine months of this year when he suffered so much from the pain in his back – pain that was only resolved from strong medications and having to bend over or lay down to cope. Now, though he is obviously bed confined, he is not suffering. He looks great – has maintained his weight — in fact, he “grazes” all day long. God has been so faithful to us in so many practical ways and we recognize many of those ways by dear family and friends who are providing such love and care through delicious, homemade meals (our freezer is packed full of food), running errands for us, and even to the extent that our niece, who will be taking her Licensed Practical Nurse test next month, has been able to help us with Ron’s care when I have had to leave him for a brief period of time.

We absolutely know that there is a “reason for this season” of our lives. We know that none of this has surprised God. Ron and I, and you, are His kids. He is a proud Father that has a plan, a destiny, and a purpose that He specifically designed for each of us to fulfill. We know that our busy lifestyle has changed…..but for a reason. We continue to listen as we know God will unveil those reasons to us. In the meantime, we are getting to know our God and His unfailing love and faithfulness to us like never before. We are not moved by the circumstances we see. We continue to be steadfast, unmovable and unshakened….and are convinced that we are in line for a miracle.

And I think to myself…”What a wonderful world…what a wonderful God….what a wonderful life!”