something I'm glad didn't happen to me

I was at AOL getting ready to read my e-mail when I saw this article of a woman who woke up in the middle of her surgery (http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/05/18/waking-during-surgery-like-being-entombed-in-a-corpse/?icid=mainmaindl1link1http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2F2010%2F05%2F18%2Fwaking-during-surgery-like-being-entombed-in-a-corpse%2F). I don't know what my reaction would have been if that had ever happened during the surgeries that I underwent.

It is called "anesthesia awareness" and happens in 1 to 2 out of 1,000 surgeries that took place. Can you imagine waking up and being aware that people are cutting you up, taking things in and out of you, etc...I can only imagine what the experience of poor Carol (the lady in the story) must have been like and I pray I never will....

But there is another kind of awareness that it seems that some of us in the body are going through; we are seeing what is happening around us in the world and like the lady in the story we cannot do anything except maybe to scream and yell. However in our case, we have a difference.

I imagine how wonderful it would have been for this poor lady to all of a sudden be able to find some way to be able to let her doctor know what was going on and have it stopped and taken care of. In our case, we can do that. It is called prayer, we can call out to got and ask for His help in a situation. And we know that however He will do it, He will stop and take care of the problem for us. He will also one day take care of all of the stuff that is going on in the world so that we will never have need of "The Great Physician", but rather be with the Father!

JP tubes

One of the things that I got very familiar with when I was in the hospital was something called a JP tube (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson-Pratt_drain) of which I had at least seven (two on the right and five on the left). What the drain is designed to do is to draw out excess fluid from the body sucking it out of the body so that it doesn't build up and drown a person....

The same thing can be said about prayer...without it, we can be drowned by feelings, depression, anger and other emotions that build up and can overwhelm us. When we talk to God and release our concerns to him, we release the pressures, feelings and everything else and transfer it to Someone who is able to handle it in a better manner than we can.

So if you don't want to be overwhelmed by the pressures of the world; take the words of the writer of Hebrews to heart:
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Mom

I love the fact that in my mother's case, her birthday and mother's day are only a few days apart (in this case her birthday is on the 5th and Mother's Day is on the 10th). The reason so is a sense of double-appreciation...one for her birth and the other that she chose to give birth...to me and my brothers and sisters...

One of the things that I like most about my mother is that we have grown close to one another...she and I are more like friends than mother and son...we love watching our San Antonio Spurs (although I must admit [with a smidge of pride], that there are times where she is a bit louder than I am)...Dallas Cowboys....and although we may disagree about the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; we do so in a kind a civil way. We have even taken our vacations together (I remember the Oklahoma-Arkansas-Texas trip and the small town trips of summer the most....)

I am happy that I am one of the people that she leans on to help her with her schedule and payments and reminders. I thank God so much that when I was in the hospital that she was there not only to support me, but also to help those that were helping me (she was a CVN-Nurse's Assistant) and was able to help with some of the questions that I had; using her training to cut through the "smoke screen" of things to let me know the truth.

The reason why I am so grateful for my mom is that in a time where the role of motherhood is attacked and denigrated; that she is an example of what true motherhood is all about!

So to you all out there, if you haven't had a chance (other than Mother's Day) to thank your mom and show her that you love her; do so while you have a chance......