Trusting in 2020

Living the quad life, I have to have a lot of trust in those that help me with my every day activities. That's especially true when it comes to doing anything with my breathing.

My diaphragm pacemaker has a port on the right side of my chest. A small plastic bracket sits securely in a dressing that's near my ribs. Unfortunately, it gets bumped on occasion and everything pops out of place. For my regular caregivers, most can get it back in place within a few seconds. However, my new night assistant has accidentally pulled it out three times this month already.

In order to get the plastic bracket in place, the wire for my pacemaker needs to be unplugged. Therefore, I don't get stimulated to breathe during this process. There is a bit of a trick to getting it back in place, and he is learning quickly, but it does still take a couple minutes. I am able to somewhat breathe on my own, but winter congestion makes it a challenge and during these learning experiences, I need to trust God's hand through my caregiver.

On Thursday, I needed to pick a few things from Wal-Mart and got out on the record setting high day to run errands. When I returned to the parking lot, I waited to get in the van while my assistant loaded my purchases in the vehicle. Wondering around the van, I saw a minivan parked near us that had a wheelchair ramp.

The ramp was down, with the van's doors open, packages on the back seat, and nobody around. We thought this way an odd situation, but further investigating confirmed no one was in the vehicle. My assistant and I got in my van, but didn't feel right just leaving the other vehicle, that also had a purse in it. After sitting for another 20 minutes, the minivan's owner finally rolled up and into her van. She didn't act surprised it was still open, but I guess just trusted nothing would be touched. As we sat waiting, few people noticed it, but two other nearby occupied cars seemed to be doing the same thing we were.

Some people are concerned what will happen in 2020 in the political arena as well as world relations. They are appropriate concerns, but we need to remember God is in control of all things. I will be watching as events unfold this year, but trusting in God's plan will be my main thought, even if everything seems to be going wrong. I pray that my readers here will as well and see what another week will bring.