The last two months
have been a whirling of activity for the Hertzler family. We have traveled over 22,000 miles. The beginning of February found us in South
Africa visiting an asthma/allergy specialist for Justin and Kayla. We are encouraged by our interaction with the
doctor and have started a few new approaches to helping the two kids deal
better with their asthma and allergies.
While we waited for the medications to be filled (since we needed 6
months worth it took a number of days), we decided to visit a game
reserve.
We have lived in
Africa for over 4 years and have never been to a game reserve. We have never seen the animals that Africa is
famous for in the wild. So we headed off
to a small game park. On the way, we
were required to take a very long detour due to rioting and car burning. Thankfully God went before us and kept us
safe. We greatly enjoyed our time
visiting the park and seeing the amazing animals that God had created in their
natural element.
Then it was on to
the USA, where Conrad headed to Head Quarters for 2 ½ weeks of training and the
kids and I headed to Iowa to see family.
Our time was filled with doctor appointments, fun time with cousins,
holding the brand new baby nephew, hanging with friends and family, and doing
some shopping. Then the kids and I
packed up and travelled to Delaware, were we meet Conrad and spent the next
week with family and friends there. Then
Conrad flew back west for another two weeks of training and the kids and I
returned to Iowa to finish doctor appointments, pack, and say good-byes.
It was during
those last two weeks when our life took an interesting turn. I had been to a dentist appointment and was
on my way back home when the friend who was watching my kids called and said
that Alissa hurt her foot. When I
arrived, Alissa refused to put any weight on it and just kept crying saying,
“It hurts, it hurts.” Since we were
past office hours, I decided to wait until morning and see how it was.
Morning
came and she still refused to put anyway weight on it. So as I was on my way to another appointment,
I called the doctor to see if they could get us in. Right before I called, I thought, “Lord, you know 1:00 pm would be a good time
for me”. I placed the call to the
doctor’s office and the first time the reception asked “Would 1:00 work for you
to come in?” I couldn’t believe my ears
and the voice of the Lord whispered to my soul, “Trust me, I’ve got it
covered.”
Upon returning home,
getting Alissa ready, and back on the road again, doubts began to creep
in. What if it was broken? My mind already was calculating how much changing
tickets was going to cost us as in 4 days we were suppose to be boarding a plane back to Africa. What if
it’s not something that would be wise to go back to Mozambique while it heals
or what if we need to make another trip to South Africa just to make sure it’s
healed correctly? As I’m driving along
the interstate, my mind is racing and my heart is keeping up, anxiety is
fighting to gain control. At the moment,
the song “I Will Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns came on the
radio. The soft voice on the Lord broke
though my worried mind and spoke gently to my heart and said “Can you choose to
praise Me in the storm?”
Instantly, I knew I
had a choice. I could choose to praise
no matter what the results. Or I could
choose to allow anxiety to take over me.
As I drove along the interstate, I made my choice. I responded, “God, I choose to praise You in
the storm. This makes no sense to me as
my plate already feels fuller than I think I can handle but I CHOOSE to praise You for what You are doing.”
The next 4 hours
were full of doctor appointments, x-rays, phone calls, waiting, and finely a
boot with crutches. Yes, Alissa
fractured/broke her foot in three places.
But the most amazing thing happened.
The location of the fracture couldn’t have been better, just slightly
forward or slightly backwards, the foot would have had to been cast. We would have needed to have follow-up x-rays
and traveling would have been very difficult.
Instead, we were told, traveling is fine. The Dr said that she was to wear the boot and
when she is ready to try to put weight on it, she is welcome to walk on
it. When the six weeks is up, as long as
there isn’t pain, she should be good to go.
Because of her age, where the break was, and the amazing goodness of
God, we were able to travel back with no problems. Now less than three weeks after the break,
she is running around on the boot like nothing happened.
God has such a
sense of humor because of her injury, we were able to receive medical
assistance through the airports. It was
the fastest trip through customs, immigration, passport control, and across
airports that we have ever had. The trip
went so smoothly that I joked with the kids who wanted to break their foot next
time so it would be an easy trip. But
more than that, I got to stand back and listen to my 8 year old tell someone
how good God is because even though she had a broken foot, it was broken at
just the right place that she was able to travel and God has
been taking care of her.
For me the choice
to praise God in the middle of the storm, was a hard one. In this storm, I got the privilege to see
right away how God had gone ahead and prepared the path. I had the opportunity to see how when the
situation didn’t make sense to me, God cares about the details of my life. He had a plan and prepared the way. But there are storms in my life that don’t
seem to have quick answers. There are
storms that seem to go on forever. The
Lord has been speaking to my heart and saying “Heidi, can you praise me in
these storms too?” It’s a choice. Sometimes praise is an easy outpouring but
other times it’s a sacrifice. It’s
releasing the situation to God and saying “I don’t know what You’re doing but I
choose to praise YOU for WHO You are. I
choose to praise You because I know You have the best in store for me. I choose to praise You.”
So what storms in
your life is God asking you to CHOOSE to praise Him. He is the all-knowing, all-powerful God of
the universe. But more than that, He
cares deeply for each person. He desires
that we would choose to praise Him in the storm and then stand back and see
what He does to calm the storm.
