We were up early this morning getting everything ready for the kids to go off to school -- well all the kids except Joshua. He had an oral surgery scheduled for this morning. Granny, aunt Janet and cousin Susie all came over to get the kids on the bus so that Kimberly and I could take Joshua to the surgery.

After about fifteen minutes of instructions for post-operation life (like not smoking, driving, drinking alcohol, etc...) Joshua was taken back, put under anesthesia, and as of right now Kimberly and I are waiting.

This is the second time Joshua has been put to sleep for surgery and Kimberly and I have found ourselves "waiting." It is not a very comfortable feeling placing your son into the hands of another (no matter how well qualified.) Both Kimberly and I both brought "stuff to do," but there is a quiet distraction that really keeps us from being truly focused. We are trusting the doctor with our son, and there is nothing that we can add to the process. It will take the time it takes, it will cause Joshua necessary pain, and in the end we are trusting that it will be for his benefit . . . so we wait.

Isaiah says, 40:31 ". . . but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." So we know what it means to "wait on the doctor" in the "waiting room" but is this the same of "waiting for the Lord?" It is where we recognize that life is out of our control, and we trust/place it into the hands of another who is far more qualified to take care of it. If we wait, for the Lord, then in the end, our lives will be better off.

So Kimberly and I sit, waiting.

4-19-10 Update
Joshua is doing wonderful and is back to normal activities. Thank you for all the prayers and phone calls. Some of you have asked what he had done:

He has many, many teeth on the bottom, so two were removed to make room for the teeth to align naturally. Also, on the top Joshua had a tooth that really wasn't a tooth at all (a bony growth that would never change) so it was removed. And he has a tooth impacted way up in his gum. So a gold chain was attached to it, drawn through the gum and attached to his upper set of braces. This will slowly pull the tooth down as the chain has increased tension. I am beginning to understand the angst in my mother's voice as she would correct me as a boy not to open bottles with my teeth, cut items with my teeth, etc...