Post Op Hallelujahs

What a difference a week makes! For posterity's sake and for those who may not have read the status updates, here are the gory details.
The surgery took about two hours and the tumor turned out to be the size of an eight month fetus. Even the doctor was surprised at the size which was oblong in shape and was pushing up into my rib cavity. The incision starts at the pubic bone and ends about two inches above my belly button. Thirty-six staples. I looked a bit like Frankenstein's monster for awhile. I was in the hospital for four days and other than my blood pressure tanking a few times, things went very well. Morphine drips kept me goofy but able to get up and around for the first time the day after the surgery, even for just a few steps.
I asked God to work out all the details and I can look back now and see how He did in so many ways.  So here are my Post Op Hallelujahs:

• The tumor was not attached to any other organs except for my ovary. Not only would that have made the operation much more complicated and the incision even bigger, the possibilities of it being malignant would have increased dramatically. Hallelujah!
• The tumor was officially classified as a cyst when the pathology results came back benign. Hallelujah!
• A good friend of mine who was my neighbor for more years than we want to admit was on duty that day and was able to be my recovery nurse. Although I was totally oblivious, knowing now what competent hands I was in gives me great joy. Hallelujah!
• The shear size of the mass nearly guaranteed it would be at least a week before the path report came back but we got the report on Thursday, TWO days after surgery. God made sure we didn't have that hanging over our heads for a week. Hallelujah!
• When I checked in Tuesday morning, we were told it would probably be 9:00 before I actually went back. There was another surgery ahead of me so they got me as ready as they could and we settled in to wait. Barely 20 minutes later, they were taking me back to the OR and I remember virtually nothing until I woke up in my room. The fact that I didn't have to sit around for hours waiting to get this over with is a BIG Hallelujah for this girl!
• We have had a virtual parade of friends bringing us food since we got home. The fact that so many people have given of their time and resources to unselfishly take care of our needs brings me more joy than I can even express. Hallelujah!
• The overwhelming amount of encouraging words, cards, notes, and comments have been so humbling.  God's people are so good. Hallelujah!
• The night before my surgery, I received a message from one of my former students who is now grown. She had just read my blogs and told me how encouraging my words had been to her due to a family member in a difficult situation also. I told John that if being able to help her in any small way was the reason I had to deal with this, it was worth it. Hallelujah!

I have no doubt that all of these Hallelujahs have been a direct result of all the prayers that were said on my behalf. I know for a fact that some of these things were prayed for specifically by some of you. I am a firm believer in naming it and claiming it in the name of The Lord. I still have a long road ahead but looking back at all the things God has blessed me with so far gives me complete confidence that He will be walking me through this every step of the way. I'm sure there will be times when I get frustrated but I am determined to use this time of forced quietness to listen to His voice. Then when the noise of the world gets louder, my hope is that I will have learned to better recognize that voice even through the things screaming for my attention. Hallelujah!