May 3 – “The Ike flag is flying”

The Ike flag is flying.  We finally got a new flagpole kit.  It took awhile, but we are once again flying the flag that flew in front of our house every time we were here working after the storm.  It was kind of an emotional experience.  I even tried to follow the instructions for tying on the halyard (that just means the string that came in the kit) and hooking it to the pole.  My end result didn't look anything like the picture, though.  But it stayed up.  Good enough.   We experienced one of those roller coaster of emotion, I'll never understand it, kind of prayer requests this past week.  It started when one of the guys at Seaside was having some work done on his house.  One of the workers was a guy who had been nicknamed "Little John" by his coworkers because of his small stature.  Little John was cutting some wood with one of those big power saws and accidentally cut off his thumb and forefinger, a disastrous injury for a carpenter.  The workers packed it (and him) in ice and got him to the hospital.  They turned him over to the doctors and called the homeowner to explain what had happened (why they weren't there and the place was covered with blood) and to ask him to pray.  At that point our member called around and asked for prayer from the church.    The next day we got a report from the homeowner.  It looked like the thumb and forefinger were successfully reattached.  Little John had feeling in the area, and all signs pointed to a successful surgery.   He was looking to be released from the hospital in a few days.  The coworkers – the ones who called him Little John – even gave him a new nickname:  "Saint John."  We were all looking at what had to be a real answer to prayer.    Then, overnight, everything changed again.  The thumb connections began to fail, and by the next day it had to be removed.  Apparently he stayed in good spirits, though, and was still looking at a release in a few days.   Why?  Honestly, I don't know.  This was one of those times when it looked like God had answered a prayer, and his good name would be praised among the secular world.  Then the whole thing crashed.  At least from our perspective.  But then, I know our perspective is woefully limited.  Maybe there is something else going on here that I can't see.  All I know is I still trust the one who put that thumb on Little John's – no, Saint John's – hand in the first place.   Job 13:15 says, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him"   Father, touch John with what you know he needs.  Amen