Wonderful Peace: A Testimony

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

I’m so thankful for God’s Love. His Love for us is so great that we oftentimes don’t even notice how it is working for us. But sometimes He gives us a clue, even if it is after-the-fact…

In our church service last Wednesday, we ended the planned set of songs with one of our favorites, “After You.” Our worship together that evening was special. The church family came together and entered into worship, and it was easy to tell that God’s Presence had filled the room. At the end of the song, I motioned for the band to keep playing, and then we flowed into some spontaneous lyrics about Jesus’ peace. I felt so strongly that there were people in the room who needed to sense Jesus as their Peace Speaker that night. An unplanned chorus of the old hymn, “Wonderful Peace,” followed. Pastor Vannie opened the altar to all who needed peace, and the front of the sanctuary quickly filled with many of our church family members. Together, we continued in worship, and God’s Peace was so tangible. It was really a special moment.

I’ve known many such moments down through the years, and as I have before, I left that service thankful to have been part of it. I was thankful that God used us as a Worship Team to prepare the atmosphere for exactly what He knew people needed that night.

What I didn’t know was that He was also preparing the atmosphere for what I was about to need.

We got home that night after church, and our 8-month-old baby, who had had a slight cough and cold throughout the day, had developed a fever. I kept a close eye on him throughout the day Thursday, but the fever persisted, and his breathing became more and more labored and congested. I spent the day Thursday doing the things that I knew to do to help him feel better. Meanwhile, my husband, Tim, left that afternoon for a men’s retreat and would be gone until Saturday.

Friday morning, the baby’s breathing seemed to be worse; he was definitely wheezing now and was still running a fever. I decided to call the pediatrician’s office and talk to a nurse about whether or not to bring him in. She felt like he should be seen, so we set the appointment for later that afternoon. I dropped the older two kids off with my mom and headed to the hospital where the pediatrician’s office was.

Having had some experience with similar situations, I fully expected a pretty routine visit… I figured they’d find something like an ear infection, give me an antibiotic for him, and tell me to keep doing what I was doing for his breathing.

After weighing him and taking his temperature, they brought in the pulse oximeter. Again, I’m familiar with the routine. They want to see if his breathing is being productive enough to get adequate oxygen into his bloodstream. What surprised me was that his reading came in low. Also, it seemed his breathing had become even more labored throughout the day, and his respiratory rate was a bit high. The doctor ordered a breathing treatment for him, listened to him again afterward, and measured his pulse ox again. Then she told me what I really wasn’t expecting to hear… “I want to do another breathing treatment, but if that doesn’t help, I may be sending you to the ER to have him admitted.”

Wow. This routine visit just took a turn in a totally unexpected direction.

As a mother, few things cause me to feel overwhelmed like feeling helpless for my babies. I’ll admit, I caught myself about to get emotional in the moment, but a calm came over me, and I really didn’t panic (like I normally would have)… The doctor left to pass the orders on to the nurses, and I picked up my phone to text Tim, my parents, my sister, and a close friend. I got texts back that they were praying, and I even got texts from Tim and my dad that all the men at the retreat had come together and prayed for the baby and for me.

The treatment was administered, the doctor listened again, but she still didn’t like what she was hearing. She sent us to Radiology for a chest x-ray, but she was straightforward with me about the possibilities: “I might admit him.”

Walking through the hospital to Radiology, it would have been very easy (and characteristic of me) to become overwhelmed with thoughts of what might happen, of how serious this could be, of how reminiscent this was of numerous issues we had had with our older son, of how my husband was out of town and I was having to handle this myself, not to mention of how expensive a hospital stay would be (and the money we didn’t have to pay for it, thanks to a huge insurance deductible).

But I didn’t get overwhelmed. I didn’t freak out. I didn’t get melodramatic, not even in my thoughts. Instead, my husband, parents, and I were texting back and forth things like, “We are praying. No ER!!!” “Sickness has no place,” “…our finances are not taking a hit, either. It’s breakout time. We are uncontainable,” and “This is unlawful!”

We returned from Radiology, and the pediatrician came in and said the x-ray was clear, showing no signs of pneumonia, so that was good news. She told me she felt sure he had bronchiolitis, so she gave me some very specific instructions for how to help his breathing while his body fought off the virus that caused it. She said, “I’m trying to keep you out of the hospital.” She told me what to watch for in case it became necessary to go to the ER overnight, and then she sent us home!

I left feeling a little tired, but overall, I felt relief, gratitude, and… peace.

And it hit me. God knew on Wednesday night what was going to happen Thursday and Friday. Wednesday night wasn’t just for everyone else; it was for me, too. He prepared the way before me so that I could walk through it filled with His awesome peace. That’s how much He loves us, so much that He’s there before us… He’s already there in the situation before we are.

By Friday night, the baby’s fever had broken and hasn’t returned since. He woke up Saturday acting like himself, and today he is definitely on the tail end of this sickness that attacked his body.

That’s my testimony from this past week. But what about you? How has God shown His Love for you this week? What has He done for you that you might have missed if you hadn’t stopped and thought about it?

Never underestimate the Presence of God, and never underestimate how great His Love is for you and your family. He knows what we need even before we need it!

“Peace, peace, wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love!”