We Never Know What Will Happen Next!

On my way home from work Friday afternoon I received a phone call that our two year old grandson Alex had stopped breathing and was being taken to the emergency room. I went immediately there and found him laying in the examination room limp as a dish rag. He was listless and lethargic barely acknowledging that his Poppy was even in the room. It was a scary situation and one that made my guts turn inside out. I can remember when I was able to handle stuff like this better than I can today. My three boys at different times had their need of stitches and I never remember wilting under the pressure but now to see our little Alex struggling for every breath was almost more than I could stand. Believe me, this getting old and sentimental is not a tip toe through the tulips!

They kept him overnight and really never found out what had brought on the breathing episode. They ruled out pneumonia, flu, and upper respiratory and finally chalked it up to some type of allergic reaction. When I left his room and went back to the waiting area, his older brother, our Lil Jim, and the twins Alesha and Amanda were there and they were so afraid for their little brother. Later I understood how they would have been very frightened since a local police officer had given them an escort to the hospital and with all that was going on and Alex turning purple, it’s no wonder they were somewhat traumatized. My wife is still on crutches from her recent foot surgery but she had to come up there also. She’s beginning to remind me of my Granny Mac.

Once Alex was stabilized and they decided to keep him overnight, I loaded up Lil Jim and the twins and took them to get something to eat and then to our house to spend the night. This is thanksgiving week. I thank God for Alex being okay. I thank God there was immediate access to medical treatment for him. I thank God that He is there in our time of need.

We were all totally exhausted when we got to our home. After eating we made pallets and bedded everyone down for the night. Amanda came into our room about 6 a.m. because she was awakened by a bad dream. I got up and she snuggled up to her MiMi. I went upstairs and began working on my lesson handout for Sunday. Shortly thereafter Lil Jim showed up and I gave him my computer to play games on and switched over to MiMi’s computer to finish checking emails, etc.
Big Jimmy called from the hospital saying Alex had a pretty good night and seemed to be more like himself that morning.

Saturday was the day we set aside for Lexie’s 7th birthday celebration at our house. Of course we had not anticipated the situation with Alex so I was very much behind my ‘things to do list’ to get ready for the little party. My wife is still recovering from foot surgery so she wasn’t able to really do a lot of the chores, however, she ended up greatly overdoing it anyway and paid the price for it later.
When the kids got up I fed them waffles, bacon, and sausage for breakfast and then got to work on getting ready for the celebration of our little Lexie’s special day.

It was quite a task to get everything ready but in the end Lexie showed up at 4 p.m. and about ten others came INCLUDING ALEX, and we had the greatest time ever. Lexie is a jewel and she enjoyed everything. We ended up with a prelude to our planned thanksgiving gathering, a time of family, food, and fellowship.

Our Sunday services were great as we heard the personal testimony of a man who escaped from Liberia during the rebel uprising there a number of years ago. It was an amazing story how God somehow made a way for him and his family as they ran from place to place with bodies lying all around them. It was one of those unforgettable accounts that made the hair on your neck stand up as each near miss and how God provided was put forth. He and his family are a living testimony of how God can provide even in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances. What a way to usher in the Thanksgiving Holiday.

We never know what will happen next but we do know who does, and He can be counted on to be there wherever ‘there’ happens to be! ….More later.