Lessons From A Bloody Nose
Last night, Josh suffered the most ghastly bloody nose I've ever seen. I didn't take pictures of it (You're welcome!), but trust me it happened.
Last night about 7 o'clock we were heading out to collect some rent and go to Publix for a few groceries. I was gathering my coupons and Josh was changing his shirt and then we were all going to go out.
But I don't think we said, "Lord-willing."
Because right then, the Lord allowed Josh to get a bloody nose. No warning, and it turned out to be the worst bloody nose Josh has ever had. We thought it would just mean a slight delay in our plans. Ten minutes later the bleeding had not stopped. We prayed.
Thirty minutes after that, the bleeding had still not stopped, and it wasn't even letting up. The websites I checked were saying that it was time to go see a doctor. We prayed some more. Then, as much as Josh hated to admit it (do you know any man who wants to go to the doctor?), we were going to have to get help. There was just no stopping all the blood. I got together supplies for a very different sort of outing--to the local urgent care center. Magazines, Noah's Quiet Bag (have I ever told you about that?), and a few old rags.
And then, almost as suddenly as it began, the bleeding slowed down. We waited and prayed some more. Finally, an hour after it started, the Lord healed Josh's bloody nose.
This reminded me that our lives are:
1. Uncertain. We don't know what will happen to us at any given time. Planning to go out for an evening? Maybe you will, or maybe you'll have a bloody nose or something else come up that will make your best-laid plans impossible. Just stating the facts, you know!
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'" James 4:13-15
2. Uncontrollable. That bloody nose was completely out of our control. Try as we might, there was nothing we could do to prevent it, or stop it once it started.
"All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" Daniel 4:35
So in one simple (albeit, scary) incident, we were all reminded how much of life is lived in dependence on the Lord, even when we don't know it. How thankful I am that our God not only is in perfect control of everything, but that He is also perfectly good, so I can trust Him.
I must trust Him!
Last night about 7 o'clock we were heading out to collect some rent and go to Publix for a few groceries. I was gathering my coupons and Josh was changing his shirt and then we were all going to go out.
But I don't think we said, "Lord-willing."
Because right then, the Lord allowed Josh to get a bloody nose. No warning, and it turned out to be the worst bloody nose Josh has ever had. We thought it would just mean a slight delay in our plans. Ten minutes later the bleeding had not stopped. We prayed.
Thirty minutes after that, the bleeding had still not stopped, and it wasn't even letting up. The websites I checked were saying that it was time to go see a doctor. We prayed some more. Then, as much as Josh hated to admit it (do you know any man who wants to go to the doctor?), we were going to have to get help. There was just no stopping all the blood. I got together supplies for a very different sort of outing--to the local urgent care center. Magazines, Noah's Quiet Bag (have I ever told you about that?), and a few old rags.
And then, almost as suddenly as it began, the bleeding slowed down. We waited and prayed some more. Finally, an hour after it started, the Lord healed Josh's bloody nose.
This reminded me that our lives are:
1. Uncertain. We don't know what will happen to us at any given time. Planning to go out for an evening? Maybe you will, or maybe you'll have a bloody nose or something else come up that will make your best-laid plans impossible. Just stating the facts, you know!
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'" James 4:13-15
2. Uncontrollable. That bloody nose was completely out of our control. Try as we might, there was nothing we could do to prevent it, or stop it once it started.
"All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" Daniel 4:35
So in one simple (albeit, scary) incident, we were all reminded how much of life is lived in dependence on the Lord, even when we don't know it. How thankful I am that our God not only is in perfect control of everything, but that He is also perfectly good, so I can trust Him.
I must trust Him!
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