“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Thirty-six years ago this morning, I sat in a small conference room with the Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at the Buffalo Children’s Hospital. Our little son, Jeffrey, was about twelve hours old. His medical team had performed an angiogram, and his condition was stunning. The doctor was very solemn as he said, “We’ve seen all these birth defects before. But never have we seen all these conditions at once in one little baby who is still living. Your little boy doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger. But I have to warn you, we have not been able to get him quieted down. I am going to bring you in to see him right now.” With that a thousand questions swirled in my mind. “How would we care for such a special little boy? How would I help the rest of my children with their fears and disappointment? How would I help my Karen so that we would be the best team we could possibly be? How would I help my church family not to be bitter or angry with the Lord?” were just some of the questions that crushed me. After scrubbing, the nurses gowned me, placed surgical gloves on me, and equipped me with a mask. I stood at Jeff’s tiny bedside, and he was screaming. I spoke to him and told him, “Daddy is here and even more important, Jesus is here. Daddy and Mommy love you, and Mommy will come to your hospital later this afternoon.” He immediately stopped screaming and settled down and rested. “You’ve been talking to him before his birth, haven’t you?” a nurse asked. It was in that moment that I knew, with the Lord’s help, we as an entire family would care for our little boy.
For today: I thought I understood what Proverbs 3:5-6 meant. It took Jeffrey Michael to teach me how powerful its application could be. How will Proverbs 3:5-6 affect you on this first day of 2019? (Jeff lived for 4 ½ years. Our awesome Lord, his amazing medical team as well as his precious church family at the First Baptist Church of Marilla, New York, helped Jeffrey’s family care for this extraordinary little boy.)