This morning as I write this, I’m sitting in a hospital room next to my husband.
I had to bring him to the Emergency Room yesterday afternoon, and they finally admitted him around midnight.
The diagnosis? Pancreatitis. Again. Yikes.

If you don’t know what that is, it’s when the pancreas gets inflamed, usually due to high cholesterol and triglyceride levels…and it causes severe abdominal pain.

This is the second time we’ve been here, dealing with this same issue.
It’s no fun.
It’s scary.
I hate seeing my hubs in pain.
It makes my heart hurt.

I wish things were different.
I wish my Love didn’t have all the health problems he has to deal with.
I wish this wasn’t even an issue.
I wish a hospital was never needed.
I wish we could live happily ever after in a healthy little bubble.
I wish, I wish, I wish….yet, here we are.

I must say that things could be worse.
I don’t want to complain too much.
Things aren’t as bad as they were last time.
Justin is able to drink a few sips of water, and I am extremely grateful for that!
Watching him lay there so pitiful and so thirsty last time absolutely broke my heart, so I praise God for those precious sips of water!!

As much as I would wish for different circumstances, this is our reality for the moment.
So, I want to make the best of it.
This didn’t catch God by surprise, however surprised we may have been.
He knew this would happen, and He has a purpose behind it.

I was reading my devotion yesterday morning by Susannah Spurgeon, and it fits perfectly. Here’s what she said:

“Not a moment longer than the furnace is needed shall we be exposed to its heat; but only when all that is vile is consumed, shall we come forth white and glistening. Dear Lord, we cannot love the fire, but we do praise Thee for the fire’s work upon us. By Thy grace, we would rather feel the hot breath of the purifying flame as it destroys our rust and rubbish, than disgrace our Lord and Master by living tarnished and corroded lives.”

May that be my attitude during this refining fire.

I’m thankful that my Heavenly Father knows all, sees all, and understands all.
He knows what we need and how best to accomplish that in our lives.
Even if that includes a hospital.