The Emergency
Jo’s doctor called her on October 31, it was not a ‘Trick or Treat’ call. “I read your reports, you need to go to Emergency right now for an immediate MRI of your lower back and hips.” Jo had been on the waiting list for that test as well as a neurologist appointment for well over six months.

I took her to ER immediately. She was checked and admitted to the hospital and eventually had the test. After a week, she was released, taking narcotics for the pain and crippling, along with a walker while waiting for a date for another type of test and a neurology appointment. Two weeks later, she suddenly had such severe pain that we called 911. She ended up in the largest hospital in the city with neurosurgeons on staff. After more tests, she underwent a lumbar laminectomy surgery. The bone caps on four of her lower vertebrae were removed to allow the spinal cord to expand and operate normally.

The Lesson
That stopped the hip pains and back pains, but since she is 85 years old, she is taking a long time to recover. And that’s when we began to learn to thank God for small, even tiny, improvements: the subject of this blog post and of the photo of the mountain-ash tree loaded with red berries. Each of those berries caught one snowflake, and then another, and another. Multi-millions of tiny snowflakes later, this was the startling result!

Jo needed constant attention and regular medications. I kept track on daily computer charts for when to give her six different types of medicines, as well as food,  bathroom, temperature, emotions, sleep, and changes of position like sitting up, lying on a couch, and, of course, changing the bandage on the six-inch-long, 18-staples incision.

We read some Scriptures about having the right attitude, giving thanks even for the small things:
In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thes. 5:18.) It was a good thing I like keeping charts because the tiny day-by-day improvements might have been overlooked.

The Examples
Sometimes, what made us give thanks to God was just one less Oxycodone tablet than the day before. Or a tiny improvement in digestion. Or a bit less redness in the incision after the staples were removed, an hour more sleep at night, or getting out of bed by herself for the first time, or a day without Tylenol.
We encouraged ourselves with Scriptures like Job 8:7, “Though your beginnings will seem humble, your future will be prosperous.”
And Isaiah 28:10, Speaking about bringing rest and refreshing, he wrote, “Do this, do that, here a little, there a little.”
And Zech. 4:6, 10 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. “Who dares despise the day of small things? They shall rejoice.”

God was guiding us with His “still small voice” as He did when he spoke to Elijah, (1 Kings 19:11). And that is okay for Jo and me. We don’t need a whirlwind or an earthquake type of miracle. We will just keep on noting each tiny improvement on the chart and thank Him for that.
God can even make tiny things like a mustard seed grow into a great tree; a comparison Jesus used to illustrate the Kingdom of God. (Luke 13:18-20) It’s a good application to be thankful for Jo’s small improvements in health and strength.

Pray that we will hang in there for the long haul, in the manner of Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
And those of you who are in different situations, practice giving thanks for even small improvements and praising God as he works, bit by bit, towards a positive solution for you.

May God grant you all a blessed Christmas and New Year’s celebration. My next blog post will be in mid-January, as God wills.

Blessings,
Jack