Best birthday present. Ever.

Good news! I’ll be back soon, actively seeking to book gigs for dates after December 1. And now I can share more about the reason for my extended hiatus.

Today is the happiest birthday I’ve celebrated in my long and beautiful life. I’ve had some good ones, but this is on a different level.

MaryFrances, my wife of 48 years, received her long-awaited lung transplant two weeks ago. Today, she’s out of the hospital and her recovery is going very well. She is breathing on her own for the first time in more than two years and her outlook is bright. Recovery will be a lifelong journey, as transplant recipients and their families well know. But a longer and more active life now shines before us.

Praise the Lord! This entire situation has been out of our control. That’s a helpless feeling.  But God has always been in control. We give him all the glory for everything – from the roughest days, which taught us to fully trust and rely on him, to the ones that brought happy news. We give thanks for the entire medical team, for our close friends and family who’ve been praying and providing support – and for the organ donor we will never know. We pray for that young person’s family, which lost a loved one. May they find comfort and joy in knowing that their loved one has saved or improved the lives of many other people.

Giving up control of one’s life is not easy. When we began MaryFran’s health odyssey, our lives turned upside down. Hers, especially. At first, I looked at this as one more major life task to manage. Big mistake. It took a while for me to let go, but God led me to realize I could not control this – and that I wasn’t supposed to. What God wanted was for me to give up everything to him. It was not easy, but I did it. If that meant never performing music again, fine. If that meant never officiating basketball again, OK. If that meant no more extended travel and adventure that I enjoy so much, take it.

I had to put the love of my life in God’s hands and be thankful for everything. “She’s yours,” I told him one early morning during a walk through the park. “And so am I. Thank you!”

So I canceled most things on my schedule. I stopped booking. I remained involved in a couple of projects, but I alerted the people with whom I was working that my participation would be limited and could end on a moment’s notice.

Suddenly, I felt peace beyond the reach of words to describe.

Then this most unexpected thing happened. God started opening opportunities to resume activities I had once coveted and taken for granted. I didn’t look for them. They simply arrived. A phone call: “Would you be available to play a show on this date?” A text: “Are you available to officiate a game next Tuesday?” Each time, I replied in the affirmative – with the mutual understanding of MaryFran’s health and the possible ramifications, which included last-second cancellation, or perhaps even having to leave in the middle of a show or a game.

Everyone with whom I dealt was caring and gracious. Some said no problem; they would assume the “risk.” Some decided to hold off until we have certainty. I am thankful for all of them.

I don’t know where all of this will wind up and what life will look like in six months, a year, five years – or even tomorrow. As much as I am able, in my human frailty, to let that go and not fret, I do.

God’s shoulders are big, strong, willing and, most of all, loving. He can handle everything. For me – and for you.

Bless you all!