The Grace of God

I have never been so happy to see a Friday as this week was terrifying for me. I was awakened at 4am Tuesday morning by a text message from my mother saying that my father was in the hospital with chest pain and tingling in his arm. At that moment, I really wished that I could be oblivious, that I didn't have the medical knowledge that I do because the worse case scenario was running through my head. As I flung things into my suitcase, I was making a mental list of possible diagnoses...angina, stroke, heart attack? And all the while, I'm hours away from home. 

I may be 25, but I'm still very much a daddy's girl. He has few flaws in my mind and is still that superhero that solves everyone's problems. As I sped down the highway, I couldn't help but thinking about how alone he must feel. My mom was out of town and my little sister is only 14. I was closest even though I was hours away from home. It's times like this that people really question their faith, but I felt so unbelievably close to God in those moments. I didn't think I would have the strength to stay composed and keep it together for my family, but somehow I did. And I know that wasn't on my own. 

Days were spent at the hospital and evenings with my little sister. I can't describe how incredibly thankful I am to God for giving me the strength to not cry in front of her. As her big sister, seeing me upset would have meant that something was very wrong. And I was determined to keep some form of normalcy for her. My dad has been released from the hospital and is now safely at home with my mom. While they did find some blockages in his heart, none of them were serious enough to require surgery-thank goodness.

 Even though I was terribly sick myself, I knew that I needed to back to school for my weekly exam. And even with a 101 fever, I somehow managed a B. Seriously blessed. More bad news has now come my way (my grandmother had a heart attack), but I know that all will be as it is supposed to be. For right now, I'm just continuing to pray and bask in the Grace of God. 

Happy Friday