One of the major keys to success is to keep moving forward on the journey, making the best of the detours and interruptions, turning adversity into advantage.

John C. Maxwell

I left home one morning at 6:45am in early May to go with a friend to console a classmate that had lost her husband the previous week. Thankfully, the Farmer called before I left town at 7 and said he had a little problem. He blacked out on the treadmill and it bucked him off. He said he almost blacked out again so he thought maybe he should call me and let me know.

Needless to say, I raced back home and rushed him to our hospital where they began to do all kinds of tests including putting him in a neck collar. He was really not a fan of that. As they monitored him they noticed his pulse was in the 40’s and dropping sometimes. He had a complete heart block. They were going to fly him to a larger hospital, but the weather did not permit and all the ambulances in the area were busy.

God was our strength and He sustained us and kept us fairly calm. When they began to get the AED ready just as a precaution, I did sense some concern as I’ve taken that training and know why that is used. Six hours later they got a wonderful ambulance crew and we were transported to a larger facility. Our oldest son had arrived and drove me to the hospital where our younger son was already waiting the arrival of his dad the Farmer.

The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive.

Bill Watterson

Children are a wonderful blessing as the Word of God says. Our son in Dallas, TX and our daughter in Kansas City were also in constant contact with us and ready to head our way if they were given the word to come.

I admit that the thought that we might not make it to our 50 Wedding Anniversary did cross my mind. We were only 21 days away from that celebration. It’s so important that we take charge of our thoughts in all situations as we have an enemy that wants to destroy us in any way possible. I also found it interesting that just the day before we went to pray the Word over a dear friend that was having surgery in a couple of days. We prayed for his complete healing and restoration. Now we activated the prayer chains and had people praying for us.

The cardiologist told us he needed a pacemaker. He has a cow tissue artificial valve in his heart that he had installed ten years ago. This sounded like a piece of cake compared to that open heart surgery. It really wasn’t just that easy but the Farmer did well. He was really devastated post surgery when they told him he might not be able to weld again. This girl was just happy to keep him around with or without the welding skills.

He had doctors orders to not use that left arm for a month as they didn’t really want the heart wires disengaged. We did not desire that either. The Farmer had some jobs that had to be completed anyway. Yes, that is his bride who does not care for heights in the tree, on a ladder with a chain saw.

The Farmer recovered well and we did indeed celebrate that anniversary. Too be continued… Thank you, Lord for our story continuing! We praise the Lord for helping us get through the detour and survive the chain saw.

Granted, detours are anything but convenient. They take you out of the way. They take longer than you originally had planned to travel. But they are necessary. God is more interested in your development than your arrival.

Dr. Tony Evans

The mind of man plans his way. But the Lord directs his steps.

Psalms 16:9