I had an 8:30 appointment this week with an ophthalmologist in Brookfield in preparation for cataract surgery. The early appointment wasn’t a problem since I’d been awakened soon after 4:00 with a hot flash, but I was tired and tempted to be discouraged.
Then I remembered a Bible verse I’d learned years ago: As thy days, so shall thy strength be (Deuteronomy 33:25). In other words, whatever amount of strength I needed today, that’s the amount of strength God would provide. With that scripture on my lips, I got ready and arrived early for my appointment.
The young lady with whom I spent the most time asked me who had told me about their practice. I said, “My former mailman’s wife—I’m an author and I met her at one of my book signings.”
J became very excited and said, “Oh, I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I didn’t know if anyone would read it or how I’d know if it was any good or not.”
I gave her some tips and told her about some resources that might be helpful to her. She said, “You’ve now become my favorite person!”
When J put drops in my eyes, she complimented me on my earrings. I told her, “I got them in a Bible bookstore when we were missionaries in Japan.” Then I added, “The earrings are daisies—you know the old saying, He loves me, He loves me not, but the words on my earrings just say, He loves me, because God always loves us. And since my name is Daisy, it’s especially precious to me.”
J responded with a smile and nodded her head. Then I went on to tell her that I had lost one of these earrings. It had been gone quite a while, and one evening I was thinking again about how sad I was about losing the earring. I didn’t ask God to give it back to me—I was just sad.
“The next day I went away over night because we were having new carpet laid and sometimes I have a reaction to the smell. When I got home the next afternoon, I walked into the living room to see the new carpet and noticed something glinting on the floor. I bent over to look and there was my lost earring!”
My new friend’s eyes sparkled, and I continued. “I asked my husband, ‘What did the carpet layers do in here?’ He answered, ‘They stood the couch up on its side against the wall so they could lay the carpet. After that was done, they swept it, and put the couch back down.’
“The earring must have been in the couch and fell out when the carpet layers put it on its side, but I couldn’t believe they hadn’t swept it up!“
With a smile, I told J, “It meant so much to me because God gave me back something that was precious to me because He knew without me telling Him how sad I was that it was gone.”
I have no idea where J is spiritually, but she smiled and said, “That’s so meaningful!” I’m praying that the Lord will remind her often that there is no “He Loves me not” with Him–only “He loves me!”
I’m so thankful that God gave me grace to interact with this lovely young lady even though I’d had very little sleep. His love and His grace are SO amazing!
Father, thank you so much that your grace IS sufficient for me. Your strength IS made perfect in my weakness (II Corinthians 12:9). Amen.
Health Update:
On Monday I saw Chris, the PA of the surgeon who will be doing my reconstructive surgery. He continues to be pleased with my progress. They are working on getting authorization for my surgery (I just received a phone call from my insurance company saying that they had authorized my surgery) so that they can set up a date in January. I will see the surgeon himself on January 10, 2024.
On Tuesday Dr. J’s office set up appointments on January 11 and January 25 for my cataract surgeries.
I also began the new medicine on Tuesday that Dr. L wants me to take for five years because some of my cancer had a strong estrogen component. It’s a little soon to know how it will affect me, but thus far I’ve had no side effects. One of my high school friends has been taking it for two years with no problems but another friend is having horrendous hot flashes and not sleeping much. So only time will tell how it will affect me long term.
Thank you so much for your prayers!
2 thoughts on “Just He Loves Me!”
Hi Daisy. God is speaking encouraging words through you, to me and to many others. Thank you for your willingness to share life as you walk with Jesus.
Thank you, Marilyn! That is such an encouragement to me. I feel like the most important thing I’ve been doing this year is sharing this journey on my blog, being as honest and transparent as I know how to be. A pastor who prayed for me several weeks ago, who knew almost nothing about us–certainly not that I was a writer, kept praying about my words. When he finished his prayer, Donn and I looked at each other and started to laugh–the pastor was mystified. We both said at once, “She’s a writer,” “I’m a writer.” It was a good confirmation that my words right now are very important and I don’t take that lightly. Thanks for your encouragement!