Deja’ Vu All Over Again

(This is not my normal devotional thought for the week but my thoughts and observations following one of those life changing events that often occur in our lives.)

 

 

 

Like the old Yogi Berra quote, “It’s like Deja’ vu all over again”.

 

I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Walking into the empty house, going into the kitchen where the high chair was sitting. It was July 14, 1978. Debbie had delivered our still born daughter earlier that day. She was staying at the hospital overnight while I came home to all the reminders of the baby that we would never know.

 

The refinished high chair, which was a family heirloom. The nursery, which Debbie’s sister Janice had wall papered. The little stuffed sunshine that my parents gave us. It played “You are My Sunshine”. We both had broken hearts because nothing could replace the child that we would never know.

 

On Friday, May 20, 2016, I walked into an empty house around 10pm. After a very long day that had started about 12:30am that morning, I was looking forward to relaxing by sitting down in front of the TV to watch a movie that I had recorded earlier and drinking a glass of wine.

 

But there on Debbie’s ottoman was the blanket, rice sock and pillow that she had used only the night before to nurse her knee that had had knee replacement surgery only five weeks ago. The memories from 1978 came rushing back into my head. How close I had almost come to never having Debbie to return to at home again.

 

When we left in the morning we were concerned but had no idea of the severity of the situation. At Dublin Methodist, the first diagnosis was a heart attack. This was based on an EKG that they had taken and compared to the one Debbie had had prior to her knee replacement surgery.

 

This was the worst possible scenario. Her family history was horrendous. Her Father and brother had died from massive heart attacks. Her mother had died from hardening of the arteries. Not a good prognosis.

 

The staff at Dublin Methodist were caring and efficient following all the protocols for such a situation. A half dozen or more people came into her room to do what needed to be done. Finally the squad arrived that would transport her to Riverside Methodist.

 

Everybody seemed urgent in their tasks but not hectic or panicky like it was an emergency. However, I found out later that the squad drove with their lights flashing and siren blaring as they sped down the highway.

 

Following her emergency heart catheterization, the doctor told me that Debbie had not had a heart attack but suffered from stress-induced cardiomyopathy, or “Broken Heart Syndrome”.

 

As it turns out, if you’re going to have heart attack symptoms, this is the best diagnosis because there is no permanent damage to the heart. In fact, the heart heals itself and the recovery is normally quick and complete with no reoccurrence of the syndrome.

 

We’d already suffered a broken heart once, I’m glad for the outcome this time.

 

On the following Sunday, Jerry’s sermon title was “Finding Joy in Rejoicing”. It was based on Philippians 4:4 which states: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice”.

 

This is a nice saying but in the crucible of life, how realistic is it? When the squad is flying down the highway with sirens blaring and lights flashing, how can we be expected to rejoice, let alone find joy?

 

The bottom line through all of this is that God is sovereign; that He is in control; that He has the final word. Not pain or suffering. When we realize that, then we can rejoice in the Lord always.