"I Hate My Guts" - Surgery Wednesday

Unflattering Photo by Robin Mitchell

Both readers of this blog will have noted that there hasn't been much fresh content here this Summer as I've been dealing with diverticulitis and other intestinal difficulties.

As I said in church a few weeks ago, Heather has started saying to me, "I hate your guts!" And so do I. It's been a difficult Summer with office visits, "listening to my body" (which apparently speaks a foreign language I haven't learned), and trying to estimate my limits.

At the same time, I know that so many more people have gone through so much worse than I have. I am grateful for each and every day and the gifts in each and every day. God's mercies are daily served up fresh and hot. I've been trying to learn spiritual lessons from our Lord's School of Affliction and lean on Him for peace, joy, and wisdom.

This path led me to the hospital again over the weekend because of increased pain even while on  antibiotics. And now we've confirmed a surgery (a bowel resection, sorry for the gory details) on Wednesday.

This is a great relief to me because, while painful to undergo and to recover from, it should solve most of the problems I have been experiencing this Summer.

So if you have been praying for me--thank you--this is an answer to them!  I feel very loved and cared for by my friends, family, and church family.

Pray for me as I continue in the hospital being prepared for surgery. I feel better today than I have in some time. Pray also for Heather and the kids and for our loving church family.

My friend and author photographer, Schenley, captioned the above photo as "This is going on the back of your next book, Resisting Diverticulitis: Winning the War of the Leaking Gut (or, What Happens When You Ask God to Teach You Through Your Suffering.)"

I hope that's not my next book title, but I think it's pretty funny. Maybe I shouldn't hate my guts after all...