From Elise

Hi again,

We have a new date for surgery - this Wednesday. Unfortunately, Greg won't have the first slot this time and we don't know exactly what time his surgery is scheduled. We'll hopefully hear from Dr. Lefrak's office tomorrow afternoon and then let you know.

The man who had the double lung transplant is in stable condition. Dr. Lefrak spent 12 hours operating on him, but he's doing well, thank the Lord. Isn't medicine incredible? It's easy to get upset about the change in our plans- but I'm thankful for this man that he has a new lease on life, and sad for the family member of the organ donor. For me, this delay has been a good reminder that we are just one part of what God is doing all over the world in people's lives. That we are precious to him, and so are the man with the new lungs, and the one who died to give him the lungs.

Yesterday Greg, Becky, Smitty (Greg's parents) and I were reading through a couple of Psalms and these verses in Psalm 33 really stood out to me:

" The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The King is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. " Psalm 33:13-17

Reading this, we were reflecting on Greg's situation and how... "Greg is not saved by his great doctor, and he is not delivered by the INOVA health system. Great nurses are a false hope for salvation, and by their skill they cannot rescue."

We are grateful to have such an excellent surgeon in Dr. Lefrak and truly blessed to live near such a high quality hospital. But if that's where we put our hope in Greg's surgery going well, we would be so foolish.

Our real hope is spoken about at the end of the Psalm:
"Our would waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD,l be upon us, even as we hope in you." Psalm 33:20-22.

Anyway, thank you again for praying for us. We'll keep you posted.

Hoping in Him,
Elise