OUR AWESOME GOD!
Yesterday I had major sinus surgery, the risks of which were blindness and brain damage, and needless to say, since it was elective, I had a number of sleepless nights before I made the final decision to do this. When I had committed to the process, I immediately emailed family, friends, special clients and groups that I am a part of to ask for their prayers, and I was overwhelmed and humbled by the response.
I was at complete peace going into the surgery from the moment I woke up in the morning until I was surrounded by seven people in the operating room as I was being put under the anesthetic-I am SURE because of all the prayers.
The most amazing part, however, was all the small miracles God gave me as a reassurance of His mighty presence.
As my friend and I first sat down in the waiting room, directly across from us was a huge poster of a butterfly. Many of you know that I use a butterfly as my logo as a symbol of hope, regeneration, and eternal life, and my home is filled with butterfly objects.
As the nurses were preparing me for surgery, they noticed that I had brought a copy of the book I wrote with Ken Blanchard, “The Simple Truths of Service Inspired by Johnny the Bagger,” which I had signed for the doctor. I asked if any of them had heard the story of “Johnny the Bagger,” and one of them said that yes, she had. She had recently come from Ohio and their whole hospital had read the book and every employee was asked to write down and send in what THEY were going to personally do to make the patients feel special. When she heard that that was my story, she squealed in delight and said she could not wait to call her friends at the old hospital and tell them she had actually met the “Johnny” lady! Of course, then all the other nurses wanted to hear the story, too.
The anesthetist heard that I was a speaker and was well aware of the possible danger to my vocal cords with this procedure, so she assured me that they would use a much smaller throat tube than normal to help prevent any injury. She saw the picture I brought the doctor (described below) as well as the book and then brought me the “fortune” she had received at lunch that day, “The greatest truths are the simplest, and the simplest men are the greatest.”
I had also brought the doctor a picture I have long loved of a patient and a surgeon in an operating room, and Jesus is standing behind the surgeon, holding his hand. Dr. Deems was thrilled with this and said that that is always his prayer when he operates on a person. I knew it was taking a bit of a risk to bring this to him when I had only met him once for about 10 minutes, but God used it to help us create a very special bond before the surgery.
When I came out of the anesthetic in the recovery room, the nurse taking care of me was wearing scrubs with butterflies on them, and she also knew my friend who had brought me, so again, I received special care.
While I was in the recovery room, the doctor’s operating room assistant came in to see me (we had talked for a few moments in the operating room) and told me that he, too, was a Christian and had been praying for me during the surgery. In the conversation, he also shared that his whole church had done the “Lead Like Jesus” training which is Ken Blanchard’s foundation on whose Board of Directors I serve. What an AMAZING coincidence that only our awesome God could plan! He has already called me today, and I feel sure that we will have an ongoing friendship.
I am doing fine today, but most of all, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for so many caring, praying friends, for the skill and caring of all the doctors and nurses, and for the blessed assurance that God is with us in every moment of our lives if we only look for Him.
Blessings,
Barbara
For more information about Barbara, visit her website at www.barbaraglanz.com.
