Long Night, Early Morning

It is just after 5:00am and my brain is chugging steadily onward towards its morning rush hour of caffeine and sugar in the form of one 20oz. cardboard cup. I have been awake steadily since about 3:45am and off and on before that since Carrie went to sleep at 11:30pm (after a run to McDonald's for a Happy Meal and anxiously awaiting the passing of tornado sirens and massive thunderstorms). I have spent my time dozing, thinking and praying for this beautiful woman next to me. Although it's not even been 24 hours since we came in with Carrie's acute abdominal pain and the procedure done wasn't what one would necessarily consider "major," for my wife to be in any pain is just about enough to make me want to bust some heads.

In these waning moments of night, though, I'm reminded of several things, though:

1. Carrie and I have incredible people around us - our family, friends, co-workers at NEXT, and our fellow Providence church-goers... wow, I've been blown away. We talk and talk and talk about "being" the Church, not just playing church, living missionally and a host of other catch-phrases to make us sound as though we're "different from those other churches and Christians..." but rarely see any difference. Cancel that thought. God has put us in the middle of a network of people who continually challenge, support, tease and yes, even "endure" us. But, more than anything, the Lord has placed us in the middle of an incredible network of people who know what it is to love.

2. The Lord's timing is perfect - So many factors that could have gone wrong... I was out of town all day on Monday, Carrie had an inkling that something was amiss just a few days ago, we didn't have an uber-stressful day ahead at the office, Andy and Robin were already coming down to spend some time with us and also Cassie and Curtis, Cassie was already coming up to the Northern Climes to watch LK for the day... it's ridiculous to see God's hand at work in such huge ways. All of that aside... Carrie found her new OBGYN down here (she was the OBGYN on call for the ER)!

3. I know that there will be rough times in marriage, but, I'm reminded again of the pain that Christ suffered for His Bride, the Church, and that I would willingly take all the pain that Carrie has endured on myself in a heartbeat. - This brought to mind Ligon Duncan's call to husbands from last years "Together for the Gospel" conference when he said these words: "You love your wife in light of how Christ loved the Church. He gave His life up for her and you are to do the same!" In a world awash in the heresy of emasculated men, husbands must be, in the words of Steve Farrar, the "point men" of their families and LEAD. I've been praying that God might enable me to treasure my wife and my daughter even more and I don't know how I could love the woman next to me any more, at this point in life.

God is good. He continues to watch over His people and lead them forward in advancing His Kingdom and, ultimately, magnifying His glory.