First of all, thank you for your many postings which greatly encourage us all, and nourish us with God's Holy word.
May the Lord bless and reward you greatly for that ( you are one of His JEWELS Malachi 3: 16, 17 )

Next, I want to tell you dear brother, that we will be praying for you as you go into surgery this week.

When I faced my surgery there were the usual fears. But God's mighty Grace stepped in and gave me that "peace that passes all understanding". He is so faithful.

When I woke up from surgery, I did not feel any pain because they gave me a spinal tap beforehand, which lasted for 24 hours.

After that, I needed Dilodid injections to relieve the pain. Since I am allergic to codeine, they had very few choices to use for a pain killer.

Every single day there were obstacles to overcome, and every single day God's loving protection prevailed.

At our age, healing takes place over a longer period of time. I didn't know I would be in the hospital for 2 weeks, but major surgery IS major surgery, and it takes a Long time to heal.

Near the end of the 2 weeks, I was progressing quite well and in fairly good shape. Then I was erroneously given an insulin shot which almost took me home within the hour. Thanks to God's miraculous intervention and my wife's close vigilance who alerted personnel, the coma was averted. ( barely in the nick of time).

Since then, my wife uses a phrase which describes well our Lord's intervention. She says that God has "muddle-through grace"... meaning no matter how many errors, omissions, accidents and wrongful decisions are made, God's hand is always upon us, and no one can really harm us. He does indeed have "muddle-through Grace".

It has been a month now since my surgery, and I am barely on Dilodid ( oral pills ). I require them less each day, and the Lord keeps healing me -- slowly -- but I am indeed healing. They tell me that I have another month to go before I can really feel on top of things, and that probably is so. But God's Grace is a never-ending supply, and I draw from it daily.
Romans 8:18 tells us that the afflictions of this life-time are not to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us. How true !

Finally, the Lord gave us a reminder of how necessary surgeries are. While recovering in the hospital, the local newspaper carried an obituary of a man who died from an aneurysm. He apparently did not have surgery.
So, while no one likes surgery, we must "fight the good fight" and keep on keeping on, as long as we can.
It is a valuable means by which the Lord has chosen to keep us alive.

We look forward to your total recovery and daily postings on the board after your surgery.

May the Lord hold your hand every step of the way -- you are surrounded by many Dove prayer-warriors who will keep this need before the Lord as long as necessary.
Your brother in Christ Jesus,
Jim Goodrick