God's choreography

It's easy to forget that our Lord holds our times in his hands. We go about our lives, taking for granted God's tender and infinite care. But now and then we get a glimpse of it.

A few days ago, I had such a glimpse, and it will be sufficient to remind me for a long time that the God of the universe tends to the smallest details of my life, just as he does with yours.

I was in a local hospital, preparing to leave after a wonderful outcome to a cardiac catherization.  My arteries are pristine. Hooray! This procedure does require that a tube is inserted through the femoral artery in the upper thigh. A collagen plug is inserted into the artery to close it after the procedure, which will be absorbed over time, but which is a little challenging to keep in place at the beginning, until it starts to heal. 

This is the one part on the healing process that takes the most care afterwards. You have to lay flat for several hours, which I had done, and you must be careful getting dressed, which I had also done.

My husband and I prepared to leave, eager to get home, and we waited for the nurse to come and release us.  Then she came into the room and told us she had a new patient, and would have to stabilize of him, but would be with us as soon as she could. 

Of course, we had no choice but to wait. A fair amount of time went by. We watched TV, shuffled around, chatted, and hung out.

Then I coughed. It was a big cough that I wasn't prepared for. I felt this ripping feeling in my groin, and a lot of pain in my leg, and a flooding feeling. Something was VERY wrong.

Quick call to the nurse. She came immediately and knew what to do, applying as much pressure as she could to the femoral artery, and she essentially became a turniquet for me. She kept me from bleeding out with her bare hands--no time to put on gloves.  The charge nurse and other staff came in and brought in what looked like a torture device that would apply pressure for the next many hours to let the artery stabilize without throwing any blood clots (an ultrasound the next day verified this). 

I had gone from stable to life-threatening in one cough. God, of course, knew that the cough at home or in the car would have meant the nurse would not have been there to save my life. 

This was one of the opportunities to see God's choreography of timing. Just because there are countless times we do not have a clue what's going on behind the scenes, I urge us all to treasure his care, his protection, and his grace.

He provides it extravagantly to each of us. Never lose track of it, dear one. He is guiding your steps, especially when it seems unlikely.  You never know when he is orchestrating you, protecting from something as mundane as a cough.  Trust his timing for those times when you don't know you need protection.

Psalm 3:3 "But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high."

P.S. So the next time you're stuck in traffic, or delayed in a meeting, think about what might be going on in God's choreography that you may never know. He just could be protecting you, shielding you from unseen dangers. His timing is not ours, and he is never off schedule, even when we think we are being inconvenienced. Praise his name!