One Pastor's Perspective

My doctor IS smarter than your average bear … He really challenged me to rest. Not to overdo it. To give my body a chance to heal. Sadly, yesterday and today I am learning the value of his words.

I had a recheck with my family doctor yesterday, Went well, and I talked Diana into dropping by the church office afterward. We probably stayed too long. Had an afternoon filled with visitors, which I loved. weave suppre and I went to my small group Bibke study last night. And then Drew and the EBC 18 & Unders played in their championship last night.

By the time we got home last night, my body was screaming at me. Still is this morning. i need rest. The doc is right!!!

In my role as a pastor, I see many dynamics that have changed in the modern family. Diana and I have been through it or are going through it as parents. But a major, critical message has been lost in modern times that will make all of the difference in the world to our kids. And, here it is:

Hey parents: Your children are learning their spiritual habits from you every day. And the level of dedication you give, or do not give, to the Lord is impacting them. Every day. You are either preparing them to live Proverbs 3:5-6 or not.

Cutting to the chase, its time to do a little less of everything else and make God your number ONE priority!! I mean … really … is He number one in your life? Be careful how you answer … Your children are depending on you!

I hate the way pain medicine makes me feel. I do, however, like the relief it brings. What a dilemma!!

The PA at the doctor’s office yesterday told me I could start taking Motrin and begin to wean-off the oxycodone. It’s amazing how much better the rest of my body is responding to that move so far.

So, here’s to a good day of pain management and a potential shower with my new removable cast!!! Hope you have a good one too!

When I think about all the events of the past seven days there is honestly much that could get me down… and it all goes back to me:

Why did I park there?
How did I fall in a spot where I’ve walked a billion times?
Why didn’t I try to spin? Why catch yourself? (BTW that doesn’t work)
How much use will I regain? How many more surgeries will there be?

You see, this could turn into a list of questions that cannot be answered and might never be answered. So, why not count it all joy???

Things to be joyful about in this:

God is STILL on His throne and I KNOW He is at work in this.
I didn’t hit my head and REALLY cause damage.
My right elbow is coming along nicely.
Justin gets some pulpit time.
I get to watch A LOT of college basketball.
The love poured out from Ebenezer and a bunch of other places and several continents is unreal!!!
Drew gets more driving time.
Bill gets more thermostat experience.
EBC has the right staff in place and God is pulling us through.

This list could keep going, but I think the pain medicine is kicking in, so I will get to the point:

My prayer is that God will take this left arm and use it in a way that will bring glory to Him and build His kingdom … and I know beyond any doubt He will!!!!

The first recheck went well, but there is really not much news to report.   I go back in ten days for another recheck.   He did put in orders for therapy to start on the right arm.   They did X-rays on my left arm and changed the cast.   The new cast is lighter and can be removed for bathing!   The X-rays showed that everything is still where it is supposed to be, but since I have not been able to move my arm, that is no real surprise!

So… I am waiting for the therapist office to call to set up appointments and that is all we know right now.

1.  There are a billion infomercials coming on all kinds of channels that we pay to bring into our home at all hours of the day.

2.  If my beard grows for a week I have give up, go to Shannon’s Barber Shop and let her take care of it.  She did a great job and it was fun for Diana and me to get out.

3.  Diana does not want to be called Nurse Babette.

4.  Drew cleans house better when he is micro managed.

5.  It  is no fun knowing that my EBC family is gathered together and I can’t go.

In the next few days, I am going to try to get Diana to guest blog on this site.   I hope she will.  Pray for us as we go to the orthopedist tomorrow morning to see where we stand.

A number of you have asked what you can do for us, and we are humbled.   Lots of folks are already doing a lot of things.   Don’t worry, we WILL ask if we need anything!   However, there is a very specific way you can pray for us in the next few weeks.

Dr. Mezzonatte did a great job putting my elbow back together, but there are some gray areas that we know of.   One of them is, He is hoping the left elbow joint will stay tight as it heals and we begin therapy.  If it does not, they may have to attach an external fixator (not the end of the world, just a longer recovery time).  Pray specifically that that joint will stay tight and do what it needs to do to minimize recovery time.

We greatly appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.  Pain is not too bad today. (strong pain medicine helps that a lot)   We are hoping that will be a trend for the rest of the week.

I know there are several versions of this story out there, because I have heard several.   But here is what happened:  Bill pushed me off the sidewalk.

Naahh…. Bill would never do that.  Thursday afternoon, I was loading some things into my car and as I walked back into the FLC I walked over that island outside the glass doors (that I have walked over a million times).  I misstepped off the island and everything went into slow motion.  The fall seemed to take about three minutes, although I know it was only a couple of seconds. I threw my arms out in front of me to catch myself and as I hit the ground I heard my left elbow break with a loud pop.  Since there was no one around, I knew I had to get up on my own.   I managed to get up and get into Bill’s office in the FLC.  I called Omerea and she came over, helped me stabilize the arm and started making phone calls for me.  She is a real champ!

Diana rushed over from Darlington and took me to the ER at McLeod.   It was there that John Ulmer was on call.  (John is a Physician’s Assistant with McLeod Orthopedics and one of our former youth).  John did an incredible job explaining what he saw on the X-Rays and walking us through.  John reset my left arm and splinted both arms.   The surgeon told us that when he first saw the films, he thought I had been in a car accident.  He said that people don’t normally break their arms like I did from a fall.   Surgery was scheduled for Friday morning on my left arm and I was admitted to the 11th floor at McLeod.

The surgery went well, but there is a long recovery and rehabilitation period ahead for my left arm.   The doctor says we really won’t know how close to full use of my  arm we can achieve until it heals and I go through some therapy.   Another surgery is in my future, but we don’t know if it will be days, months or years from now.    The good news is that they are not planning to cast my right arm.   The doctor thinks we will be able to get by with a hinged brace since the radial head in that arm is only cracked and the elbow is just chipped.

So, here we are.  God is still on His throne and He will pull us through.  Of that I have no doubt!!