Quiet confidence

I just got off the phone with my sister. Papa has been in the ICU of Silliman University Medical Center since last night when our older brother rushed him to the emergency. Papa was really scheduled for check-up today because he hasn't been feeling well. But they decided to bring him to Dumaguete (about 3 hours drive from our hometown) when he started to have fever.

According to my siblings, Papa has been feeling weak and his tummy extraordinarily bloated. When they got to the hospital last night, his BP was very low. The doctors decided to place him in the ICU for close monitoring. This morning, they found out that there's a "slight" problem with papa's heart. Results of the liver work-ups is still pending.

My sister was on the verge of tears when I spoke to her on the phone. And really, if I have not seen God's miracles up close and personal, I would have already been panicking myself. Heart problems run in our family. In fact, four of papa's brothers who have gone ahead all died of cardiac arrest. Our lola, on the other hand, died of cirrhosis of the liver. Papa was a heavy smoker in his younger years and "occassional" drinker. But the good thing about papa, he's conscious of his health. He quit smoking in his late 30s. He regularly exercises and is in fact, the healthiest among his siblings. He has not been on top shape though when our mama died 19 years ago. Next week, Nov. 19, would have been their 47th wedding anniversary.

Amazingly, just before I spoke to my sister, my devotion was about God's blessed assurance. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" That's the Lord talking to Abraham in Genesis 18.14. He assured Abraham that though he and Sarah were very old, in the human point of view, to bear a child, there is just nothing that God can't do.

Having seen miracles one too many, I never ceased to believe that God can do all things. He is in control of everything. He has brought our Ben back to life when he suffered cardiac arrest a few days after his birth. Now at 12, you'll never imagine Ben went through so much as a baby. I always say that Ben is God's living testimony that He is a miracle working God.

On Wednesday, I'll be off to China for a business trip. Papa was suppose to come with me but there had been delays in getting his passport. Besides, he said, he has not been feeling well anyway.

I'll go with a blessed assurance from the Lord that He'll take care of papa. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord. No infirmities too hard for Him to heal. In quiet confidence, I rest knowing papa is in the hands of our Heavenly Father.