Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 135 - Except

Matt sighed when he, Zack, Jessie, Susan and Greg found themselves once again in the waiting room in the ICU of Children's Hospital.

"What is it?" Susan asked.

Matt shrugged. "I don't know. After all this time sitting here, I sort of expected something to happen. I mean it did. Melody had the operation, but she seems the same as before."

"Did you expect to see a difference right away?" Greg asked.

"No, I suppose not. It's just that on the inside, I sort of expected something more dramatic to happen, but it didn't. Melody pulled through ... and that's a good thing. Now we just go on as before. We wait for her to get better so she can come home and life goes on," Matt said.

"That is the best outcome we could have hoped for," Greg reminded him.

"Isn't that what you prayed would happen?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, sure. I mean I know the Lord answers prayers ... but this seems so subtle," Matt remarked.

"It doesn't seem subtle to me," Susan told him seriously.

"How do you mean?" Matt asked.

"Melody is still alive. Most of the heart problems she's had since birth have been repaired. It's the thing I've asked the Lord for each and every day since Melody was born," Susan shared.

"Except," Zack prompted.

"What do you mean, 'except'?" Matt asked his brother.

"There is always an 'except' when Mom says it that way," Zack replied.

"Is there an 'except', Mom?" Matt asked.

"There is a second half to that prayer, which leaves what I asked for more open ended," Susan told him.

"And what is that?" Matt asked.

"I always end my prayers 'thy will be done', meaning, I always make my requests conditionally, provided they don't contradict or in any way interfere with the plans of the Lord," Susan said.

"Oh," Matt said. "Yeah, of course. We're supposed to pray that way."

"But do you mean it, Matt?" Susan asked. "My request was for Melody to survive long enough to have the surgery. Now she has. If the Lord were to take her now, through any means He has at His disposal, He would still have granted my prayers while calling Melody home according to His will and plan."

"You mean she might still die," Zack said.

Susan hesitated. "Yes," she said.

"What do you mean, Mom?" Matt asked.

"What do you know that we don't know?" Zack asked.

"Nothing ... yet," Susan told him.

"But you suspect something," Matt guessed.

"I'm not going to speculate, Matthew," Susan said firmly. "I am going to go with the Lord's plan on this. He answered my prayers, and granted my request. Now it is up to me, His servant, to await His timing; to do my best to understand what He has in store."

"For who?" Zack asked.

"For our family; for you, for me, for Melody, Jessie, Matt, Greg ... all of us," Susan said.

"And Julie?" Matt added hesitantly.

"And Alan too," Susan agreed. "All of us. The Lord, our Father in heaven has a plan. I am certain of it. It is clear to me now. I must be patient to see it through. I don't mind ... not really."