Dad's Hospital Stay

So first I should say dad is doing fine. He is in quite a bit of pain and he still can't eat solids. The surgery yesterday went well even though it was more difficult than expected. The surgeon said dad's gall bladder was pretty tough so he imagines dad must have had problems with it for quite some time and not realized that's what it was. The surgeon also said that his gallbladder was kind of wrapped around some other things. They had to cut dad open instead of doing the surgery laparoscopically which means that he will be recovering for a longer period of time. He also lost more blood than normal since his pancreatitis made is veins inflamed. The pancreatitis should get better quicker with the gall bladder out and he will continue the IV meds in the hospital until maybe Wednesday. At the moment dad isn't trying to talk the doctors or nurses into letting him out of the hospital so that kind of gives an idea of how he is feeling.

Though this hospital visit and surgery are not as serious as some of the ones we have had the traveling back and forth and more can still take it's toll.

As per usual people have been saying things like "I don't know how you do it?" to my family. Or making observations like "you guys can't seem to catch a break."

Sometimes I don't know how to respond to people who say that. Because we figure life is full of ups and downs so another hospital visit is just a part of life. And not to sound like I am giving the typical Sunday school answer but we handle all of life - the good and bad - by trusting in the one who creates and sustains life, Jesus.

I feel like I grew up understanding that the best place to be in life is close to Jesus no matter what that means. If that means a life where the downs seem to come more than the ups than that's not always a bad thing. In the bad is often when we cling closest the the one who is in control of it all.

And because of him we can remain level headed while dad is in the hospital and show up to work or whatever else we feel we need to do to live. 

How we handle situations really has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Jesus.
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, I am strong."        2 Cor. 12:9&10

So if it seems like we have handling these hardships all figured out - we don't.
What we do know is who to turn to.