Thankful Hearts

I have to begin by saying a very big "Thank You" to every single one of you who have prayed for Hamp and me in the last 24+ hours. He is doing well for a heart attack patient. The blockage in the artery was complete which caused the blood flow to stop and therefore the heart attack. Once the stent was in, the flow was fine again which did reverse some of the adverse effects to the heart. Obviously your body can't go through something like that and go back to the way it was before, but it does seem that the damage was minimal. We're still waiting for test results, medication adjustments, and the follow up visit to the cardiologist in a couple of weeks before we'll probably understand the whole situation.

He was moved out of ICU late this morning and is now in his own room. As comfy as that is, he's hoping he'll get to come home tomorrow where I will become chauffeur for the rest of the week. He can pop in and out of work for a meeting here and there but can't stay. Exercise is limited until the doctor visit and we'll be watching for side effects of medications.

The outpouring of love and concern has been amazing and such an encouragement...especially to me. For you to fully understand the magnitude of it, I have to go back a couple of weeks and tell you a story.

When we found out we were moving to the Nashville area, we had several recommendations of good churches to check out. We knew it would take a while to find the place we were supposed to land and since it was summertime and regular routines are disrupted, we figured that would probably add to the time frame. We made a list and began with the church closest to us and went two weeks ago. It's in a cool location, the worship time was good, and the pastor taught well from the Bible. There was only one thing lacking. From the time we walked in the door until the time we walked out of the door, not one person spoke to us. Not one. I think two people acknowledged our presence with a nod and a half-smile, but that was it.

If you know us, you know that won't stop us from going there if that's the place God has for us. We can talk to a post if necessary and maybe we're supposed to be part of the solution to that oversight. But it was still a glaring lack especially to someone new to the area. It made us both very aware of how we've been guilty of the same thing. Don't we all gravitate to those we already know and who are familiar? It was a good lesson to be reminded of and one I hope I never forget.

And then there was today. Early this afternoon, my phone rang with a local number but I didn't have it in my phone as a contact so I had no idea who it was. When I answered it, this bubbly voice introduced herself as a friend of a friend of a friend with a cousin thrown in there somewhere too. Turns out some of the precious young ladies who were in our small group in Baltimore were together and concerned about us being here by ourselves with Hamp in the hospital. One of them had gone to college 30 minutes from where we lived and was active in her church during that time. I'm still not really sure how it all ties together but with a phone call or maybe two, we were being reached out to by a total stranger whose only connection to us was that we were part of the body of Christ with a need. I felt like our girls from Baltimore were right there with us as this voice reached out in friendship. We're meeting her tomorrow when she comes to visit us in the hospital. Isn't that awesome?? Ellis, you should be proud!! :)

I share this with you not as criticism of what wasn't done, but for the blessing of what was.  I was humbled at how what to us might be such a small thing to do can mean the world to someone else.  It's something we all need to be reminded of...and now we have been!

Lastly, even as I type this on a blog, I'm reminded just how much the world has changed.  We've all heard the criticisms of social media and how it can be addicting and replace real life, etc.  All of that is true and more.  But it has also shrunk this vast globe significantly and we've seen proof of that in the last day and a half.  We've heard from people all over the country that have been part of our lives - some from as far back as high school - all because of a status update here and there.  I embrace change like it's a porcupine and work hard to avoid it most of the time.  Again, I think I'm humbly learning how God really can and does us all things for good.

Our friends arrived this afternoon so we have company now although we're not exactly going to be out on the town.  The hope is that Hamp will make it home before they have to leave.  Thanks again for all the love and prayers - God is blessing us through you.  Have a safe and happy 4th of July!