The days in the hospital in Prague were long and at times I felt quite alone and discouraged. The autumn weather outside my hospital window was in its pristine beauty, much like today, but I was cut off, inside, not at the retreat experiencing the relational connections that I envisioned would build in to the future. I was waiting for my body to heal. The emotional part was the hardest, not much in English around me, no one visiting after Sunday when my traveling companions needed to go off to the retreat (with my blessing).
Email messages which I only had access to through the data plan on my Blackberry at times routed reply messages to another email address of mine so I thought people were ignoring my mail. Later I found their responses but at the time I was unaware.
But God met me. He met me in his Word. I was reading through Psalms during this trip--and what better place to be when one is laid up medically or for other out of control reasons. Psalm 19:14 says my words and my thoughts you see. That here in this unknown place to me God was aware; and I called out for him to give me a word.
Another provision, beyond measure: In the end next to me, also receiving from appendicitis surgery the same day as mine was a young Czech man also fluent in English. He would translate for me when the nurses came in with medications to inject or swallow. I was glad to know what was going into my body! As we talked we laughed and watching each other holding our torsos because of the pain from laughing made it all the more funny! What a God send! I talked about my faith, he talked about his questions. Instead of spending the week in a retreat setting with resident witnesses of Jesus encouraging and teaching them I was given opportunity for front line practice! I understand the mind and heart of a Czech man whom Jesus loves better than I ever would have experienced otherwise. What a redemptive strand.
At the close of the week I said to him, I appreciate your friendship and help to em this week I del that God arranged for you to be here beside me. His joking retort: Oh! So it was your God that made me sick with appendicitis.
Oh well--maybe that is why I was just given the front line assignment for one week rather than long term.
It did create within me a special heart for our agency sending witnesses into this very God unaware nation. Empower them and sustain them Father! Make their lives and witness fruitful.
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