Final Preparations

It was a typical start to my Friday. I could get an extra 15 minutes of sleep, but I woke up before my alarm. I splashed water on my face and returned to my bed to start the day off right. I grabbed a bag of homemade granola and reached for “My Utmost For His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. The scripture for the day was one of my favorites:

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.

I meditated more on this verse as I got ready for work and headed down stairs to the operating room. It was final preparation day for VVF (vesico-vaginal fistula) surgery. I am so excited about being in a new role as VVF Team Leader. The ladies from the north travel to Lome’ tomorrow. I have only met a few at pre-screening, but they already have captured my heart. Screening with the surgeon is on Monday and surgery starts on Tuesday. I sat at the computer and looked at my to-do list. I had the day off on Tuesday and sick on Wednesday. Thursday was catch up day on sterilizing duties. I started right to work on taking inventory of suture and catheters. I worked on the manual for nurses right up until lunch. The afternoon consisted of getting OR #3 ready and a leadership meeting that lasted until dinnertime. I am thankful for a friend that stayed late to help me put the final touches on the room. We found homes for supplies and bleached the equipment we pulled out of storage. I found myself in the dining room too tired to socialize and even to eat. The exhaustion was even more compounded still being sick and from my ever growing to-do list in my head. I made it back to my cabin and sat on the floor just to organize my paperwork. My mind flooded with concerns about Monday approaching too quickly… Am I going to feel 100% better by Monday? I can’t be sick now. How many ladies are we going to have to turn away? How am I going to schedule for next four weeks? Is the OR going to run smoothly with ever-changing staff? Do we have a translator to speak the northern dialects?

Just overwhelmed, I suddenly remembered how I started my day… the right way in God’s Word. In Matthew 6, it tells us not to worry about anything in life because we are valuable to our Heavenly Father. If we seek Him first, everything else will fall into place. Tonight, I am trusting God with the final preparations.