Don’t Anticipate – Participate!
As a planner I have a strong tendency to anticipate, figure out all the possibilities and plan for every outcome. This summer was no different. But you can’t anticipate the unexpected.
I could not have anticipated the medical mayhem that happened during our family trip to Alaska. See my blog post https://www.lorettaschoen.com/2023/blessed-while-stressed/30625/you-can-plan-but-dont-count-on-it-going-as-planned/ for the details.
You’d think I would learn from it. When we returned home to get further medical care for Thad’s shoulder injury we both anticipated it would need to be surgically repaired. A little knowledge can be dangerous. When we got to the right Orthopedic surgeon (not the one who replaces the shoulders but one who fixes shoulders) we even packed a hospital bag and C-Pap machine thinking they would admit Thad and do surgery soon after. We were pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved when he told us that the break, though clean, was minimal and with physical therapy would heal and return him the full use of his shoulder and arm.
During the summer I began having knee problems that severely limited my walking unless I took anti-inflammatories. I thought it would go away but it felt more like it had squatter’s rights and was never going to leave. With two hip replacements, I was no stranger to this type of pain and self-diagnosed that the only cure would be to have a knee replacement in my future. I made an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon only to find out that while there was some narrowing; calcifications and arthritis were the major culprits. A shot of cortisone (YUCK! and OUCH!) has been a lifesaver. And although I may indeed be looking at a knee replacement sometime in the future, I have some time and am praying that there might be some advances that exclude surgery.
Dealing with medical mayhem can make us feel helpless and we often try to control things that we can’t possibly control.
In both incidences I automatically assumed and anticipated the worst rather than place my trust in God. 1Peter 5:6-7 reminds us to Humble ourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” I have to remind myself that it is God who is in control.
Like a jigsaw puzzle, we can often get lost and mired into an area where we cannot see how pieces of our lives can fit together for good. But if we take one piece at a time or one day at a time, we can rest in God and fix our eyes on the One who made the world. God knows how the pieces fit together and where you fit into the bigger picture.
My role is not to anticipate but to participate fully in the life God has given me and notAA worry about where the pieces fit in the puzzle that is my life but enjoy the colors that unfold because of them
Prayer: Dear God, help me not to anticipate your plan but trust you even when we cannot understand the circumstances. Let me NOT anticipate but rather participate in the plan God has for me. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11.
Are you a planner? Do you try to anticipate and have a contingency plan for everything? How might you change the way you approach your day to day so that rather than worry and anticipate you enjoy and participate and maybe be chuckle a bit at its insanity.
Thank you for reading my post. If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it. Feel free to even re-blog – may these words take flight!
I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts. To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com
Blessings for Health & Wellness.