Dear
Readers, may I introduce you to Tracy Crump, a fellow believer and author
friend I met?
Well, actually we haven’t met. Not
face-to-face, that is.
A couple years ago I attended on-line
“Reality Coaching for Writers” classes to hone my writing skills. One of the
guest instructors? Tracy Crump—specifically sharing how to write for Chicken
Soup for the Soul, having been published in more than twenty of their books.
I’d not considered writing for Chicken
Soup, but after listening to Tracy’s presentation, I communicated with her
and gave it a whirl.
Tracy patiently
led me through the process, cheered me on, and gave me the courage to submit a
couple stories. How grateful I was for her coaching!
But Tracy went even further. She
helped launch our son’s memoir, writes me notes to see how I’m doing with my
physical struggles, and prays for our family.
I’ve been touched by Tracy’s
testimony—her faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and her
dedication to caregiving as well as her strong commitment to writing and
writers.
Tracy also ministers to caregivers
through Instagram reels, monthly blogs, and her devotional
book. She understands
the isolation and helplessness caregivers often feel.
And now, Readers, you'll become
acquainted with Tracy too!
Tracy,
thank you for guesting on my blog. I’m thrilled to share sweet you with the
world! –Sarah
Hope in the Unexpected
By Tracy Crump
Well, my year didn’t start out as
planned.
A few days after Christmas, my throat
began throbbing on one side with pain shooting into my ear each time I
swallowed. Over-the-counter pain meds barely dulled it. I saw my primary care
provider, who prescribed an antibiotic, but the pain grew worse over the next
few days. When I couldn’t get an appointment to see my doctor again before the
weekend, I went to an urgent care clinic.
The nurse practitioner took one look
down my throat and said, “You have a tonsillar abscess.”
She confirmed it with the other NP on
duty.
“The swelling could close off your
airway,” the nurse said. “You need to go to the emergency room now.”
So off to the hospital I went. ER
personnel said the condition is usually diagnosed by CT scan, so I thought the
nurses had overreacted. But no, they were right. A CT scan done at the hospital did show a tonsillar abscess. I received IV steroids and antibiotics and
went home on oral meds. Two days later, I had to return to the ER when the pain
and swelling increased and received more steroids.
The following day, my husband and I
both tested positive for Covid. Sheesh!
We can’t predict when emergencies
will happen, but we can find hope that nothing takes God by surprise. My online
community of caring prayer partners bolstered me, and I even found reasons to
be thankful for my predicament.
When I posted about it on Facebook,
one friend commented, “God led you to the right people.”
So true! If the nurse practitioners
at the urgent care clinic—a facility I had never visited before—hadn’t
correctly diagnosed the problem, things could have turned ugly fast. I was also
grateful that the ER doctor treated me conservatively rather than opting for
more invasive intervention.
God used the situation to minister to
someone else, too. When I walked into the emergency room that first night,
there sat a friend from church. She single-handedly cares for her husband, who
is on hospice for cancer, so I knew something was very wrong. She had driven
herself to the hospital after falling off her porch and injuring her ankle,
which she thought might be fractured.
“That’s all you need right now,” I
said.
My friend’s concerns for her husband
overrode her pain for a while. He hadn’t eaten anything all day. Fortunately,
she was able to secure someone to stay with him and texted back and forth with
the caregiver about what to feed him. She hadn’t planned on a trip to the
hospital that day, but managing care for her husband brought her peace.
As her pain set in again, we talked
about how hard caregiving is and the importance of a support system, but even
in that, I felt God’s hope infusing the conversation. Just then, our pastor
stopped by the hospital and prayed with us both, confirming that God knew our
needs and would take care of them one by one.
No, hospital trips and illness
weren’t what either my friend or I had envisioned for the new year, but God
often uses unexpected paths to lead to renewed hope in Him. That’s one reason I
love the old Irish hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” God is ever with us, whether in
the emergency room or the hospice home. He brings hope and light to any
situation.
Be Thou My Vision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Optrm7lF16s
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought by day and by
night; Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true
Word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father, I Thy dear child;
Thou in me dwelling, with Thee reconciled.
Be Thou my breastplate, my sword for
the fight; Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight.
Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high
tow’r. Raise Thou me Heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty
praise; Thou mine inheritance, now and always.
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’ns Sun!
Heart of my heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
(from Be Thou My Vision—Eleanor H. Hull, versifier & Mary E. Byrne, translator. 1905—public domain)
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tracycrumpwrites/
Blog:
https://tracycrump.com/blog/
Devotional
book: https://amzn.to/2OinraH
#writing #RealityCoachingforWriters
#DianaLeeFlegal #EddieJones #ChickenSoupfortheSoul
#caregiving #nurse #emergencies #tonsillarabscess
#emergencyroom #hopeinGod
Photo
credit: “HOPE”—istock & additional via T. Crump
Always hold to hope!
ReplyDeleteAmen!!!
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