The stump in the yard July 30, 2009

For some reason, I got the notion in my head today that I would mow the yard for S which is a bit crazy because we have this ongoing joke about how I don’t actually mow the yard but rather vacuum it.  It cracks him up to see how I go around the yard in a haphazard fashion.  But somehow, all the blades get cut, and it ends up looking fine.

Today was my first attempt at mowing the yard at our new house.  There are several trees in the yard and worse than that…there are a couple of tree stumps, one of which is quite large.  I’m never really sure how to attack these areas because you cannot continue on the path that you are traveling and to go around the stump messes up the straight lines pattern in the grass.  So do you just make one big circle around the stump to start out with or do you mow right up to it…stop…turn around and go back, mowing all the yard on one side of the stump and then do the other side?  Or do you mow up to it…go around…and continue going straight on the other side?   I don’t really know what proper mowing etiquette is for this situation.  What I do know, however, is that the stump in the yard is very annoying, and mowing the yard would be much easier if the whole stump was completely removed.

So it is with our lives.  We all have stumps in the yard…whether they are sin, unforgiveness, anger, hurt, pain.  We may have cut them down so that the growth of these stumps is less visible, but if we have not removed them completely, they will always be in the way.  We may be on the path that God has set before us, but when we come to the stump…do we just make a circle around it and try to keep going?  Do we work right up to it and then have to turn around to go back, hoping to come at it from a different angle?  Or do we do whatever it takes to remove the stump from the yard of our lives?  Yes, it would be very difficult to remove.  It would take lots of effort, determination, and help from the Lord to get it out of the ground.  But until the stump is completely removed…roots and all…just like the stump in my backyard, it will always be in the way.

Hebrews 12:15  See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root [or stump] grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

When an aunt prays…

A few years ago, my mom called me in the middle of the night on New Year’s Eve…my 15 year old nephew Micah was on his way to the hospital with stroke symptoms.  He had tried to make it to my sister’s bedroom to tell her he was not feeling well when he collapsed and was unable to move his left side or speak clearly.  She immediately called 911 and then called my parents to start the family prayer chain.  My other sister and I then reached each other by phone and began praying for at least an hour for Micah…for his health…for his safety…and for answers.  After transporting him to Children’s Medical Center in the Metroplex, he under went numerous tests only to find that the doctors had no answer.  Nothing showed up…nothing was wrong…every test came back normal.  An answer to prayer…

One other time since then, Micah has experienced these symptoms, went to the doc’s office, and discovered that these “episodes” are probably the onset of migraines …a few of which Micah has suffered the effects. 

Fast forward to this summer…his doctor wanted to do another MRI and an MRA  just to make sure all was unchanged.  My sister took him for his test and then left to go on Micah’s graduation cruise to Alaska.  While getting ready to depart, she received a phone call from the doctor telling her that Micah has a brain aneurysm.   The doctor told her that it was very small…not to worry…go and have fun on this trip and call me when you get home.  They would schedule more tests with a specialist then.  Of course, my sister called our parents to let them know.  She also called the sisters to keep us in the loop and to ask for prayer.  

I committed to my sister that I would pray for Micah 3 times a day…everyday…until she got back from the cruise and talked to the doctor again.  I stuck to my commitment and prayed every morning before breakfast…every noontime before lunch…and every evening before dinner.  I prayed that God would heal Micah, that He would remove/fix the aneurysm in his brain, and that there would be no leftover effects whatsoever.  I specifically prayed that when Micah went back to the neurologist for the next test, he would say to my sister, “There is nothing there.  I don’t see anything.  There is no aneurysm.” 

They were able to schedule his tests about 2 weeks ago and got the results back this week.  When my sister went to see the neurologist, he said to her, “Mrs. Parks, I have looked at all the tests…there is nothing there.  I don’t see anything.  There is no aneurysm.” 

Word for word what I had prayed for him.  Word for word what I had asked God to do for my nephew.  And word for word, He answered! 

I love it when God shows off like that, don’t you?

NIV 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Side note — These are pictures of Micah’s graduation gift from Aunt Ree.