June 15 – “The trees are down”

The offending trees are gone.  Well, not gone.  But they have been cut down and hauled to the front yard of the house next door.  When I got home from the hospital last night I had to run next door to take pictures and send to Chris.  The huge pine tree in the front yard is now a stump near the ground.  The tree that was leaning on our fence, as well as another one nearby that had just begun its fall, are in pieces in the front yard.  The one that was leaning against the power lines is down.  And the one that was helping to hold up the one leaning against the power lines is down.  I'm not sure if there are others or not, but I am rejoicing about the victory at hand.  And not only that, the weeds and grass and stickerburs that were running rampant have been cut back as well.  They didn't haul the stumps and hunks of wood that had already been cut to the front, though, so there are still piles of brush.  But again, at least we can see the potential critter homes and hideouts, and they are not as close to our fence line.   The last two days have really been a blur.  Sunday our good friends Tim and Robin came to Seaside.  He's a pastor, but they were on vacation.  It was fun to tease him about showing up 30 minutes late.  He had a quick reply, though.  "And I'm sitting on the back row."  Nice one, Tim.  They took Mom and I to lunch.  At Healthy Chinese Buffet.  No, I'm not becoming a regular.  Remember they have fried shrimp on Sundays.  And ketchup.  Lots of ketchup.   Some other friends of ours from Mansfield showed up out of the blue today.  They were visiting friends in Houston and came here for a day on the Strand.  They also wanted to see what our post-Ike new house looked like.   I heard from Chris this morning.  They were talking about letting her Mom go home today.  There were still a few more doctors who needed to come through, though, so she said she would talk to me later.  And shortly after our company left, later came.  The lung surgeon won't insert the chest tube as long as there is any evidence of infection.  And there is still evidence of infection.  It is apparently yeast instead of bacteria, so it will take a week or two for it to go away.  He also can't do the tube insertion until there is actually fluid buildup in her lungs again.  And the whole thing is complicated by a kidney stent that needs to be replaced as well.    I tried to figure out what I was feeling about this whole scenario.  Feelings.  Those supposedly "unmanly" things we don't like to talk about.  I'm finding that even when I want to talk about how I feel, I don't know how to describe it, so it's easier to say nothing.  I know I don't want Chris' Mom to suffer.  And I sure don't want Chris to have to go through this again.  This particular episode has taken its toll on the whole family already.  And it hurts to know that it will happen again.  I feel pretty helpless in the midst of all this medical lingo.  But I feel really confident about her spiritual condition.  She's going to be fine.  I just have to figure out how best to communicate that to her husband who is already angry with God, and to her kids who probably feel at least a little guilty or frustrated that there is nothing else they can do.    Psalms 62:1-2 says, "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."   Father, yes.  What David said.  Me too.  Amen.