Another wild week...

Well, I made a big mistake in my last post. I pretty much promised to post a couple times last weekend, and obviously, that didn't happen. So, I apologize. Life intervened last weekend, and my schedule didn't go as I planned. Maybe I should apply James 4:13-16 in my life next time! I guess the lesson to be learned is that life is always apt to change your plans and schedule.

Anyway, this weekend was a strange mixture of fun and difficult. Our friends Josh and Maria, and their son "little Josh" drove up from Jacksonville on Thursday and stayed until Monday. We stayed up far too late each night talking about old times. Friday, we explored the area and ate at Zaxby's on Cumberland. On Saturday, the five of us spent the day at Cades Cove and pretty much wore ourselves out. On Sunday, we visited a local church and had lunch with Emily's parents, Bill and Sue Irving.

At lunch, I got one of those calls that you hate to think about. My mom called to tell me that my grandmother (who lives in West Knoxville) had a stroke. So, Emily and I left lunch and drove to the hospital to visit her and my grandfather. It was a pretty stressful time. We arrived and saw my grandmother in the emergency room, unable to speak.

Praise God that His grace was present in abundance, and my grandmother has improved steadily since Sunday. She's moved from the ER to the critical care unit, and finally to a "regular" hospital room.

I'm going to share a little more about what happened to my grandparents here. I hope they will forgive me if it's too personal, but there's a reason for it.

My grandfather had to make a momentous decision on Sunday. He had to choose whether or not to have the doctor at the ER give my grandmother an IV medication that could break up the clot in her brain and help her condition. The problem is that my grandmother is already on blood thinners, and too much thinning of the blood can cause hemorrhaging and even more problems than a blood clot.

My grandfather, mom, and dad all chatted with the doctor, and it finally came down to a crucial question. My family asked the doctor, "Would you give your own mother this medication?" The doctor said that he would, because there was a 60% chance that the medication would help my grandmother and a 40% chance that it would cause more problems. My family had to choose between the advice of their expert adviser and their own gut. Fortunately for everyone, they took the wise advice of the expert and my grandmother is steadily improving.

The point is this: How often do we trust our own "gut" about what is best for us in life, and reject the "advice" of God that is found in the Bible? Pretty much daily, with repeated negative consequences. We struggle so much in life because we think we have the answers to our own spiritual, social, emotional, and family problems and we choose to live outside God's best plans for us.

In truth, God gives us a 100% guarantee that if we operate in the truth that He presents to us in His Word, our lives will be lived to our fullest potential. This doesn't mean we will have a life devoid of pain and difficulty, but it does mean we'll live a life that is deeply meaningful and fulfilling.

So, when faced with difficult life decisions, we need only look to the examples laid out for us in the Bible. When we trust God's Word and place our faith in Him, we are free to let go of worry and allow Him to guide our paths.