Be anxious for nothing

Phillipians 4:5-7 says "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". 

Now, if you ask my family, they will say I am a worrywart. I will say that I used to worry about every single thing that rolled across my mind, whether the situation involved me and mine or not.  And then, Jesus came.  When He entered my life and I realized that the worrying I was doing was a sin because I was saying that GOD could not handle things without me, well, I worked to leave it at His doorstep.


In December 2006, my dad was hospitalized with a little "heart scare".  He was diagnosed with a-fib and also diabetes, something I had been diagnosed with a few months earlier.  So, his cardiologist started getting the rest of the testing done, which was delayed a bit due to the holidays.  He failed his stress test, which we kind of expected.  So the next thing scheduled was a heart cath.  My folks didn't want me to go sit with mom, but I wasn't working and told them it would make the time go faster.


On February 18, 2007, the Sunday before dad's heart cath, I was getting ready for church.  As clear as a bell, I heard "be anxious for nothing".  Twice.  I knew it wasn't the television and the voice wasn't my husband's.  So out loud, while drying my hair, I said "Okay Lord, not sure what I'm not supposed to be anxious about, but I'll trust in You."  And carried on with the day.


The next day, I met up with my folks at the hospital for dad's heart cath.  Mom and I had our crochet bags, something that helped keep us calm.  The plan was that once dad was okayed and released, I would swing by Truett's and pick up lunch for all of us and take it out to their house and spend a bit and then go home.  


Well, plans change.  All the time.  And ours changed dramatically and drastically that day.  Roughly fifteen minutes into the procedure, a nurse came in and got us; they were unable to complete the heart cath due to the blockages. Dad was kept consciously sedated and I started calling my sister, brother, aunt and pastor. He was transported to Atlanta and another cardiologist attempted the heart cath.  All the tests indicated that he had two severe blockages and open heart surgery was scheduled.  For the following morning.


Remember what I heard?  Clearly?  Well, I have to say that I wasn't scared.  I had the awesome privilege of praying over my dad right before surgery, asking God to guide the surgeon's hands and reveal anything else that might be there.  Dad's surgery started at about 8 that morning and about 1 that afternoon, while I was alone, the surgeon came out and told me he was being put back together and that they had had a surprise when they opened him up! He had THREE blockages and a leaky valve, which they were not expecting....they were expecting two blockages.  


And then dad tossed another ball into the ring.  He didn't want to wake up.  By that Friday, they were doing CAT scans to see if he had suffered a stroke during the surgery.  Still no anxiety.  Still praying.  See, I know my dad.  He detests hospitals.  And he doesn't deal with sitting still very well.  So I believe that God kept him snoozing while He worked to heal his chest.  Because on that Sunday, after nearly a week of sleeping, they were able to wake him up.  


So the next time you are facing a battle, remember to be anxious for nothing.  Take it to God. He'll give you the peace that passes all understanding so that you can handle whatever comes.