The Unexpected Delay - When Plans Change

Sometimes setbacks are setups for something better

Insights for Empowerment

May 16, 2024. My surgery was scheduled. I was ready. Mentally prepared. Emotionally braced. I just wanted the cancer out of my body.

Then life threw a curveball I didn’t see coming.

I had just returned from Las Vegas and unknowingly brought COVID home with me.

My husband got sick. And suddenly, the man who had been my rock through this entire journey couldn’t be there for my surgery because he was quarantined.

I went to the hospital anyway, unsure where I would even go after surgery since he couldn’t be home with me.

But then, lying on the operating table, minutes away from anesthesia, something happened. My heart rate dropped. Dangerously low. The medical team stopped everything.

It wasn’t safe to proceed. The surgery was postponed.

I was devastated. The cancer was still in my body. The waiting would continue. Everything I had mentally prepared for was put on hold.

But looking back now, I see it clearly: that delay saved me.

When Protection Looks Like Postponement

The postponed surgery forced me to see a cardiologist. I got cleared medically in ways I hadn’t been before. And when my surgery was rescheduled for June 14th, my husband was healthy and able to be by my side.

What felt like a setback was actually God’s protection.

Sometimes delays aren’t denials. Sometimes they’re divine intervention keeping us safe from something we can’t see yet.

The Lesson in the Wait

Waiting is hard when you have cancer in your body. Every extra day feels like giving the enemy more time. But that forced pause taught me something important: my timeline isn’t always God’s timeline. And His timing is always better, even when I can’t understand it in the moment.

Conclusion

If you’re facing unexpected delays in your treatment, in your diagnosis, in your recovery, I know how frustrating that feels. But don’t lose hope. Sometimes the obstacle is the protection. Sometimes the closed door is keeping you from walking into something that isn’t ready for you yet.

Trust the process, even when the process doesn’t make sense.

Encouraging Nuggets

Scripture for Today: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” – Isaiah 55:8

Affirmation: Delays are not always denials. God’s timing is perfect, even when I can’t see the full picture.