The Voice of the Lord

Psalm 95:7
The Lord is our God, and we are his people, the sheep he takes care of in his own pasture.  Listen to God's voice today!

If you want to make God laugh, make your own plans.  ~Ceil Ryan, Surrounded by the Spirit 

My husband, Danny, and I have planned this anniversary getaway to Big Sky Lodge, a luxury cabin in the Nantahala Mountains of North Carolina, for months.  After long weeks of illness and stress, we are more than ready for a vacation together, to reconnect with one another, and to recharge with God.

But there is a problem.

Over the past two weeks, Danny experiences bouts of light-headedness and shortness of breath whenever he overly exerts himself.  He attributes it at first to having been under the weather for a while.  But when he makes a run to our local Costco the Friday before we are slated to leave on Sunday, he has a spell, which forces him to sit on the curb to regroup before he can go into the store.

Concerned, Danny calls his cardiologist's office (he has an ICD - Internal Cardiac Defibrillator) just to make sure these episodes have nothing to do with his heart.  The nurse assures him that there is no reason to be alarmed.  He has an appointment scheduled for the week following our vacation, and is advised to wait until then to be checked out.

This is what Danny wants to hear as he is as excited as I am to be returning to the mountains, but he can't shake the feeling that something is wrong.

Saturday, we are at Publix, making a final grocery run, when Danny decides to check his blood pressure and pulse.  The former is fine, but the latter?  Forty?  And holding???

Now Danny is truly anxious.

Once home, he calls the cardiologist's office again, and speaks with the P. A. on weekend duty.  He, too, nixes the need for panic, but does recommend, since we are embarking on vacation, the purchase of a blood pressure cuff.  Danny follows his orders, and the cuff is packed along with a week's worth of groceries, clothing, toiletries, and games into our Subaru the next morning as we prepare to head out.

Giovanni, Danny's son, helps me load up the car, as Danny is reluctant to exert himself.  "You know you'll have to unpack the car once we get to the cabin," he tells me.

"No problem,"  I assure him.  "Consider it done."

When we set off Sunday morning, Danny is seemingly feeling better, and is able to drive without any issues.  That's a good great thing since I cannot handle expressways.  No way, no how!

It appears for all intents and purposes that our plans for an awesome vacation will come to fruition.

~

Danny wakes at 1:30 that night.  He takes his pulse.  Forty.  He prays the Lord's Prayer over and over and over again before he can finally fall back asleep.

Monday morning, the pulse reveals the same low and disturbing number.  Danny places another call to the cardiologist's office, and blessedly, reaches the triage nurse.  This time, he receives the right advice.

"Get down to the nearest hospital, and have them do an EKG.  Now!"

The voice of the Lord speaks loudly and clearly through this woman, and Danny doesn't hesitate to move on her admonition.  "Martha, grab your purse.  We have to drive to Bryson City asap."

"What?"  I am incredulous, and I've just opened my Bible to do my reading for the day.

"I'm serious," Danny says.  "I'll drive us down the mountain, but you'll have to take over on the Great Smoky Mountain Parkway."

"But Danny, you know I can't . . ."

"Yes, you can.  You have to."

I grab my purse and my Kindle, and out the door of Big Sky Lodge, we fly.

Praying all the way.

To be continued . . .