Monday, September 28, 2009

Coup-Fourré!

Job 19:25-27
"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"

Job 42:2
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."

One of my favorite games when I was growing up was Mille Bornes (which is French for 1,000 milestones). The point of the game was to travel 1,000 miles by playing mileage cards. Opponents tried to slow you down or stop you by playing hazard cards (flat tire, accident, out of gas, speed limit or stop). You responded by playing remedies (spare tire, repairs, gasoline, end of limit or roll) or, better yet, safeties (Puncture Proof, Driving Ace, Extra Tank or Right of Way). Remedies allowed you to resume your pace, while safeties allowed you to resume your pace and kept you from getting that type of hazard again. If you had the right safety at the time the hazard was played, you'd say, "Coup-Fourré!" to signify you were immune from that type of hazard. There was nothing like shouting "Coup-Fourré!" when someone tried to slow you down.

So why do we bring this up today? Today is Day 180--a huge milestone--in Tammy's post-transplant journey. If something really bad is going to happen because of the transplant, it usually happens within the first 180 days. But it seems like we've gone through 1,000 milestones.

Through the past 180 days, she has encountered many hazards. She's had flat tires and accidents (like the sudden gall bladder surgery around Day 100). She has run out of gas (with a constant lack of energy to get done what she wants to get done). And she has been given a speed limit or a stop card (with her low immune system keeping her from doing some of the things she dearly loves doing, like being with small children and hugging her family and friends).

But God has provided the remedy cards. He gave her a repair card and allowed for a perfect surgery to take care of the gall bladder. He has given her a gasoline card to allow more energy as the days go by, and has given her patience to wait for the energy to come back slowly. And He has given her end of limit and roll cards to allow her to go back into public, at least on a limited basis.

We believe that the prayers offered by thousands of people on five continents (Australia and Antarctica where are you?) are our Coup-Fourré card. Satan may think he's winning this game. But we know we'll win the game, no matter how we get to the milestone.

Do you remember what we wrote last November? We said that God would be glorified no matter how this turned out. If He chose to heal Tammy quickly, He would be glorified by His power. If He healed her slowly, He would be glorified by Tammy's patience. If He took her home, He would be glorified by Tammy's peace.

All appearances are that He has chosen to heal her slowly. But during this 180 days, and the days leading up to her transplant April 1, Tammy has been able to live out her prayer: to be used in a mighty way.

Just tonight, we were doing some shopping, and we had a chance to share Tammy's story and bless someone else. A wonderful lady was ringing us up, and she was humming, "My Redeemer Lives" by Nicole C. Mullen. She apologized for her humming, but said she couldn't get the song out of her head. We told her it was okay with us, because we loved the song. She told us how her faith had allowed her to establish a ministry, even through one of the darkest periods anyone should have to endure. We shared that God has been faithful with Tammy, and shared the blog address with her. We prayed together, right there in the store at the front register. It was a blessing to all of us.

We don't know where you are in your faith journey right now. It is our prayer that you would be able to look at the hazards you face and use God's remedy cards, and ultimately His safety cards to get through.

Coup-Fourré!