God's Grace

In the past week, my family and I witnessed God's Grace at work in our lives, up close and personal. If you are a regular visitor to Southern Lagniappe, you know that last Wednesday my husband underwent hip replacement surgery and came through it even better than we had hoped. He is recuperating and doing physical therapy at home now, and is getting stronger each day. I thank God for blessing him with exceptional doctors and nurses and physical therapists. I thank Him for my parents and our family and friends ... and for you, my sweet blogging friends ... who sent up countless prayers for my husband during his surgery, and who continue to ask that he be blessed with a speedy and complete recovery. He answered all those prayers a hundredfold ... and for that I will be eternally grateful. But, as if that wasn't enough going on last week, we also experienced another traumatic event. Early in the morning of Tuesday, March 1st, some of you may have seen this post here at Southern Lagniappe: I've been waiting over a month to share some wonderful and exciting news, and now that I can — I find I have no words. No words can describe the pure joy in my heart and the emotions that have been running rampant ever since I learned that we are going to have another grandchild. And yesterday we found out that ... Our granddaughter Avery Grace is going to have a baby brother! And just as he is nestled safe and warm and secure in his mommy's womb — so is he also nestled deeply in his Grandmama's heart. Thank you, Lord, for this precious little miracle you've given us. Yes, that's right — we're going to have a grandson! I think I posted that announcement around 7:00 a.m. last Tuesday, and at 7:15, my daughter Whitney called and told me she was having some complications as a result of the amniocentesis procedure that was performed the day before, so I removed the post. Whitney saw her doctor at his office later that morning, and I met her and my son-in-law there. An ultrasound confirmed that the baby's heartbeat was strong and he was moving around, so that was good news, but, as a precaution, her doctor put her on strict bed rest for a week. This all happened the day before my husband's surgery, and I spent that day with Whitney at her house. Since I couldn't be with her the rest of the week, I called my sister-in-law Dorothy, who was coming from Louisiana the next day to be with me at the hospital, and asked her if she could stay and take care of Whitney and Avery (our son-in-law had to leave that Thursday to be out of town for four days). Talk about "when it rains, it pours!" But God was working things out for us ... even though it was hard not being able to be with Whitney and Avery myself, I thanked God for blessing us with Dorothy and her capable and loving care, and the comfort and peace of mind it gave me to know she was there. In the meantime, I was at the hospital with my husband and felt God's Grace there, too. He blessed my sweet husband with a remarkable surgical and healing experience, and loving siblings and good friends whose cards, phone calls, and e-mails cheered and inspired him. The day after the surgery, our son Benjamin was traveling from Tennessee to be with us in Jackson, and was run off the interstate into the median by a lady who was distracted by her cell phone conversation. Thankfully, Benjamin was able to gain control of his car and get safely back on the interstate, which was truly a miracle in and of itself! Thank you, Lord, for watching over him for us. He was also watching over Whitney and her baby. She went back to see her doctor yesterday, and an ultrasound revealed that the baby is active, has a strong heartbeat, and there is no doubt that he is a boy baby. I don't usually share such personal stories here at Southern Lagniappe, but the past several days have been such a memorable time for me and my family — a time filled with blessing after blessing and so many answered prayers, both great and small ... that I just had to share these stories of God's Grace in our lives.