She looked good this morning!
The picture above was taken post-op, but this morning she was looking even better :-)
Dr. John Gililland is one of the kindest, most compassionate physicians I've met. He asked her this morning if she had any pain - "No".
Drink any water yet? - a shrug from her mother.
So, he helped sit her up, asked for a cup of water, and then allowed her to hold it in her good hand and drink. She drank it down as fast as her little throat could take it! And then sighed.
He helped her stand up and steadied her for a second as she adjusted her balance. Her expression barely changed at all as she felt her shoulder much lighter on the one side.
No dizziness? "No".
Was she feeling better? "Yes".
Then he helped her lay down again.
Her face had shown relief after the drink of water.
A new day, the first day, of a new life has started for her. We prayed that she would come to know The One who can heal completely and restore life. The One who can one day give her a whole body, complete and fully restored. I'm looking forward to that day :-)
Very thankful for the examples of kindness John has shown me this week. I came to "help out", but already I feel like I have been the one blessed the most by being here. Watching the staff relate with patients, participating in discussions around the patients with other doctors (in French - so I listen mostly), and preparing for the next operation... has been good for me.
I still don't know where God would have me land some day - maybe Lafayette, IN is the place - but in the mean time I'm grateful for these moments of living life where there are no other medical options.
Driving to the hospital this morning while dodging a couple of carts, and a free ranging bull, I thought again how much I enjoy driving Land Cruisers in Africa on dodgy roads while avoiding rain puddles. Maybe it isn't often noticeable, but it really is the small things in life which make it fun!
My sister in China commented that it feels surreal to see people making momentous decisions in a seemingly innocuous manner. Her good friend is considering an abortion, and they talked about it last night. Today she was wondering what decision had been reached. And how absurd it seemed - yet felt completely normal - to be going about a routine day and know that her friend may be killing her own baby that moment. Yet the day felt so "normal". Somehow that didn't seem right. And it troubled her.
I recalled the many times driving home after someone died in an accident, or from an illness, or was horribly mangled, burned, etc... and yet I still stopped to pick up groceries, put fuel in my truck, pay bills, eat dinner... life seemed unchanged, yet I knew other lives had changed completely. It felt odd because if felt so normal. And that bothered me too.
I wonder what Jesus must have felt as he walked this earth and related with people? What was going through his mind? How was his life affected, and what was his perspective? I know he saw a lot of hurting people, people who's lives were being changed in dramatic ways - and yet he knew how to walk in that reality. Knowing Jesus drives me back to reading the Gospels again in order to understand what He said in light of the reality we all know.
And I'm looking forward to the day when we can see reality from His perspective.
Tomorrow I'll stop by and see how the little ones are doing. And thank God that He holds them in His hands. And I'll pray that I am one step closer to walking in His world with Him. Pray to see the children with His eyes and live to show kindness like John when he gave the little girl a drink of water.
Hebrews 12:1-3
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