My First Surgery

Yesterday I went to the Southwoods Surgical Center in Boardman to have my ruptured achilles tendon repaired on my left foot. I made sure they marked the correct foot!!

We know that everything that we go through is for a reason. I have been trying to listen to the Lord and make sure that I grow through this process. I do believe there are some things that He is going to teach me and us (as a church) through this. One thing I have gained already is a better understanding of how people feel going into surgery. Since this was my first surgery, I never could have said that before. Even the simplest of procedures bring some anxiety and nervousness. Although I knew that I was in "good hands" - with a surgeon who I felt very good about and even more importantly I knew that he was in "good hands" because ultimately our Sovereign God is in control. Even with all of these truths, you cant help but worry!! So, we are told, instead of worrying or being anxious about something - we are supposed to pray. So, I did that. And I just kept telling the Lord what His Word says. In Romans 10, Paul teaches about salvation. There are many verses that we know well from this chapter. Listen to His Word:

Rom 10:9-10
"if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead , you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
Rom. 10:13-15
"For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed?? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have not heard?? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?? And how are they to preach unless they are sent??

And here is the verse that I was praying back to the Lord yesterday morning!!

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

I told the Lord that He needed to take care of my feet because He said that they are beautiful - and since my left foot was the furthest thing from beautiful, He needed to fix it!! Pretty good, huh!! (Of course, after the Valentine banquet everyone knows that my feet werent exactly beautiful before the injury - but the swelling and the all the ugly colors made it even worse). I dont know if that is exactly what the verse means but I have realized these past few weeks how even my feet are important to preach the gospel. I love the privilege of preaching the good news and am so thankful to God that He would allow me to have so many wonderful people to share the Word of God with each week. I am going to miss preaching these next however many weeks as I follow my doctors orders and take it easy but I am thankful that I didnt have to "miss out" on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday!

So, in conclusion, I thought that this may be the best way for me to let you know that my surgery went very well and I am thankful for your prayers. I am home and resting. I am following my doctor's orders and I have a post-op visit this Thursday. I am pretty heavily medicated with pain medicine - so all is well!!

Thanks again,

Pastor Jerry