When Life Takes a U-Turn

It’s been almost 4 years since my husband’s first stroke. They called it a mini-stroke. It didn’t affect him too bad, just his speech and memory a little. But it did affect our lives in a big way. You see, my husband drove a truck for a living, and in Texas you have to wait a year without any related medical problems before TXDOT will let you drive professionally again.
This was a very trying time for me. Life as I knew it had turned up-side down. I felt like I’d lost part of my husband and my best friend, and now our only source of income had been cut off. Everything I had depended on was suddenly gone. It was during this time, the Lord told me He was our source of income, He was our source of healing, He was our source for everything, we only needed to trust Him. The Lord was truly good to us, He fulfilled His promises of taking care of us, and because of His provisions, we were able to fulfill all but one month of our lease; and even in that, the manager was so kind, it did not go against our credit.
We were learning how to truly depend on the Lord.
About 6 weeks after we moved, my husband had a second stroke. This time it wasn’t a mini-stroke. This one was bad; I had to call 911; I wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, they were calling bigger hospitals in Dallas to fly him to for more specialized care. The doctors came in the room, while they were talking to me, they showed me how unresponsive my husband was; the doc went on to say there was one thing he could give my husband to try to help him, an injection that would dissolve the blood clot, but, it comes with risks. He went on to say there was a 46% chance it would move the clot into his heart or brain, killing my husband. I couldn’t make that decision at that moment, I needed time.
The Lord knew I needed time; we had a helicopter outside waiting for us, but the first three hospitals in Dallas they called didn’t have room for my husband. This gave me time to talk to the Lord; I knew if my husband died he would go home to Jesus; and I knew he would not want to live in the state he was currently in.
I talked to the Lord, I told Him about my concerns for whatever direction He was taking this. I got quiet after the third time the nurse came into the room and told me another hospital had turned him down due to lack of space, and I listened. Not to the EMTs out in the hallway talking, or the nurses or alarms going off in other rooms, I listened to God. He comforted me and stilled my soul. My husband received the shot. Right after receiving the shot he was transported by air to a hospital in North Dallas.
When the helicopter left I headed back home.
There was that need for trust again, that deep down in my soul trust.
My first thoughts were, what have we done so bad Lord to deserve this? Quickly the Holy Spirit put me in my place, how prideful of me to put myself in my Creators place and think that something I did, or didn’t do, could cause my husband or anyone else, to have a stroke. The Holy Spirit went on to comfort me by reminding me that we live in a fallen world, our bodies are not meant to last forever, and we have to take care of them. This stroke was not cause for me to feel sorry for us, but to glorify God. God had a purpose and a plan. Am I saying I think God caused my husband’s strokes? No, I believe my husband had those strokes because he smokes and doesn’t eat right; however, I am saying I believe God used those strokes for His glory and to ultimately bless us.
I won’t lie. It took me about a week of self-pity and crying to finally straighten up and begin trusting the Lord beyond that level of surface trust.
With each passing day my faith and trust kept growing as I was seeing the amazing work the Lord was doing. It was suddenly like everything that had been happening all fit together, it was like I was watching a movie and seeing the end before it got there.
The Lord continued to move and open-up path ways that were so obvious for us to see, He was making changes in our lives for His glory and to bring us closer to Him.
The twists and turns on life’s road are meant to bring us closer to God; He wants a personal, intimate relationship with each and every one of us, so close, that we totally, 100% trust Him for and in everything, deep down to our very core. My husband is better now, he isn’t who he was before the strokes, in some ways, he is better than he was before his strokes. He has a new job now, serving God 24/7, and God has opened up ministry opportunities for him that he didn’t have before.
God only wants what is best for us and He has so much good He wants to give us!!
The twists and turns haven’t stopped; in fact we are going through another one as I write this, and writing this has been very good for me, to help me remember the goodness the Lord has brought out of trying and difficult times; I just have to remember to stop, listen, pray and wait; oh it’s so hard to do sometimes, but also so very worth it when I finally quit stressing and worrying.
When life take a 180, talk to God, listen to Him, obey Him, trust Him, and wait for Him; nothing is beyond Him.




Pecan St. Home Décor
BLOG ITEM OF THE WEEK!
November 13 - 19!
Just in time to decorate your home, or office, for Christmas, these two beautiful golden reindeer are the perfect accent to any decor! Now through Nov 17 these two reindeer and all Christmas decor is on sale!


Shop Pecan St. Home Decor through the Wise Womans Christmas Gift Guide 2017 to receive an exclusive discount!

Other posts I think you'll love

                If you haven't already, please connect with me on social media!
FaceBook  Pinterest  Twitter
Please leave a comment below, I love hearing from my readers!
Jenn