The Lord is the strength of my heart

Yesterday seemed longer than usual. My doctor called early. She said the lab tests from the day before showed slight concerns, but they were tests that often gave false positives. She wanted me to go to the ER for better tests. Right after she called, an A-fib episode began. This was a blessing in disguise because experts needed to assess this fluttering while it was happening. So my husband came home from work and drove me to the ER around 11:00 a.m.

Heart problems are given priority, so I was not long in getting a bed. They did many tests over several hours. One was a CT scan to make sure there were no clots in my body. During all of the tests, they monitored my vitals and formulated a plan to put a stop to the uneven rhythm. For most of it, I just felt like sleeping.

After several hours and the attention of two dozen caring medical people, they gave me a drug to slow my heart rate, hoping that would stop the fluttering. It didn’t. The next step was electricity, the paddles.

These are not like those seen on television hospital shows, nor administered the same way. Instead, of doing it while I was awake, they put stick-on pads on my chest and back, then put me to sleep. When I woke up, my heart rate was slower, even and regular. Everyone was smiling. After making sure all vitals were stable, they sent me home, about 9:30 p.m. We stopped on the way to fill a prescription for the meds that will keep my heart rate slower (my hubby takes the same thing, even the same dose) and then I slept soundly for eight hours.

This morning, I’m breathing deeply, a big switch from my normal shallow breathing. I feel a bit worn from all the events of yesterday, but am delighted with a normal heart rate, and delighted with today’s devotional verses.

Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5:1–3, NKJV)

Indeed do I direct my voice to God this morning. I look up in gratitude and praise that His timing brought me to the right place at the right time. I’m certain that the doctors on call were the right doctors. They made good decisions. All two dozen care-givers were a blessing with highly coordinated efforts.

I also look up to God with thoughts of how He wants me to respond after all this. For one thing, my priorities have already changed. Some things are added to that to-do list and a few have come off it. As I speak with the Lord today, I know He will listen to me, yet am more concerned that I listen to Him.

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Jesus, Your precious presence keeps me still and focused. Your loving care came through the thoughts and actions of people I’ve never met before (and we joked that we hoped to never meet again). Your timing reassures me of Your attention to detail to the needs in my life and more, that You will take care of the needs in the lives of those on my prayer list with that same attention. As I spend time with You in prayer this morning, I’m already grateful that you give ear to my words and heed the voice of my cries.