Go Be Love.

I started writing this at 7:04 AM on Thursday, August 1, 2019 while sitting in the waiting room for open heart surgery patients as the staff at Piedmont Hospital prepared mom for her aortic valve replacement. It was a standard procedure that is done all the time but this time it was mom. She is not just a standard patient. Lots of life happened since then so it’s finally getting finished up today. :)

Choking back tears was harder than anticipated because of statements like, “They’ve made the chest incision.” Let’s not forget, “She’s on bypass now.” I’ve thought before that waiting was hard but I’ve not felt something like this. Knowing that one of my best friends was on an operating table with her life in the hands of surgeons was terrifying. What was comforting and the only thing that even remotely kept me calm and composed was knowing that mom’s heart was actually in God’s hands. During those moments, I had the opportunity to talk to strangers..I know, shocking. There was a man and his stepdaughter there who were waiting on his wife (her mom) to get out of a similar procedure and I was fortunate to have the chance to pray with the daughter that day. I don't say that to brag but to say that God uses any chance to be honored and it's incredible how He does it. She allowed me to "be love" in that moment by hugging her and praying over her family.

Mom made it through the surgery like a champ and was even worried about others as she woke up in recovery. That woman is constantly thinking about others. When my nieces, Maddie and Ella, went back to ICU, she was asking about their summer school prep since school was set to begin the next week. She was also giving us orders to get rest. Still kinda bossy and we wouldn’t have her any other way.

From even before surgery began, our family was continuously blown away by our community of family and friends that showed up to pray over, wait with, check in, and love on mom (and the rest of us yahoos). I won’t even try to list each person because I’d fail miserably. The entire time I was overwhelmed by the texts, visits, meals, hugs, and just the reminders that we weren’t in that experience alone. My heart broke for some of the people at that hospital because their loved ones were waiting alone. No one should ever go through that without a community. Whether it’s family or friends, we all need each other. People around us from near and far were “being love” to us and I am forever grateful.

It’s hard to be vulnerable and to let people know when we struggle because we don’t want them to feel like they have to do something. Did you ever stop to think that you might be robbing them of the opportunity to bless you by bringing you a meal or coming to sit with you? It might sound silly but I’ve seen mom do what she loves by cooking for most of Whitfield County and surrounding areas. It blesses her to bless others. Yet she didn’t want to put others out by them bringing food. I get it because I’m a lot like her in some ways. We all are because we don’t want to inconvenience others but in the end, we are all in this together. All this to say, I want to challenge you to go and be a blessing to someone this week but to also allow someone to be a blessing to you as well. There’s joy on both sides of that. Whether it’s sitting with someone who has a family member in open heart surgery or sending a note of encouragement, go be love.