Pain had struck my mother’s stomach like a dagger. We were on our tour bus high in the Italian Alps. She moaned in agony all the way down the long winding road to the bottom of the mountains….God was faithful to me, his frightened and unsure child, even when I couldn’t be faithful to Him. He is the “Faithful One.”

The seat belt sign lit up; we were ready to take off. We were on our way home! Home…it’s hard to believe that the dramatic ordeal is over. Feeling safe, I enjoyed the luxury of looking back to the first moment of trauma that turned a carefree vacation into an emotional rollercoaster. Scene by scene flashed through my head and with each scene came the reality that I had been in a spiritual vacuum. I hadn’t prayed or read my Bible or called upon God for help. But now, looking back, I can see that God was the “Faithful One.” Verses from the Bible that had been lying dormant were now coming alive as I replayed all that happened to us in the past ten days…

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…you are with me.” Psalm 23:4

Pain had struck my mother’s stomach like a dagger. We were on our tour bus high in the Italian Alps. She moaned in agony all the way down the long winding road to the bottom of the mountains. The bus stopped at our hotel destination in Mestre, Italy, a small town outside of Venice. An ambulance was waiting to take us to the nearest hospital. We were told that no one in the hospital spoke English so our tour guide joined us as the interpreter.

Upon arriving our guide went in with my mother to see the doctor while I anxiously waited in the hall. Our guide came out and said urgently, “They have to operate immediately. An ulcer ruptured and peritonitis has set in.” Peritonitis…Harry Houdini died from that. My mother might die!

“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Joshua 1:5

“I’m sorry,” said the tour guide, “I have to leave you and take the tour group into Venice for a gondola ride.”

“Okay,” I replied calmly, but my mind was screaming at him….WHAT? You’re leaving me for a gondola ride? What if my mother doesn’t make it through the surgery? How will I know? I don’t speak Italian. I was stunned when he walked away.

My brain was jumbled. My mother was the world traveler. She was the one who took care of the trips. This was my first trip away from America. I needed help! I have to get back to the hotel where the desk clerk speaks English.

“Hotel Mestre, please,” I said, with false confidence, to the taxi driver.

“You record my misery; list my tears on your scroll…” Psalm 56:8

I approached the Italian desk clerk and told him my name and asked for my room key. Fighting tears I said, “My mother is being operated on at the hospital. No one speaks English there. The operation should be over by 10 tonight. Could you please call the hospital at that time and let me know if she made it through the surgery?”

“Yes, of course,” he replied with compassion. His kindness opened the floodgate of held back tears. I quickly turned and headed for my room. Closing the door I immediately picked up the telephone to call my husband. Joe had a way of taking care of my problems….but this problem was thousands of miles away. I hung up leaving him to call my sister and brothers to let them know about Mom.

At 10:05 p.m. the phone rang. It was the kind desk clerk who reported, “Your mother came through the operation!” This time my tears were of joy.

“For He satisfies the longing soul.” Psalm 107:9

The joy was short lived. Our tour was leaving for Rome in the morning; leaving me and my mother behind. I felt so alone. Overnight my mother and I had reversed roles. She, a season traveler who took care of everything, could no longer do that. Now I, the rookie tag-a-long, had to be in charge. The phone rang. It was my oldest brother, Tony. As if he had been reading my mind, his first words were, “Miriam, you’re not alone.” The rest of the evening was filled with phone calls from my sister and brothers reassuring me that they would be there for me.

“The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:8

The next morning I learned from the waiter at breakfast that the hospital was within walking distance from the hotel. I walked there and located the information desk. I had written my mother’s name on a piece of paper and the girl at the desk wrote 302 on the paper and pointed to the elevator. Walking down the third floor hallway I heard singing. It was my mother. She was singing with gusto, “Arrivederci Roma, goodbye, goodbye to Rome.”

Smiling, I thought, my mother is back to normal. We chatted about her surgery and how well she felt. I left the hospital so she could rest. My heart was light as I walked back to the hotel.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

That afternoon I returned to the hospital to a room full of trouble. Entering I found my mother trying to climb out of the bed and saying, “I have to save my clothes from the bugs. They’re crawling all over them!” She was hallucinating. Keeping her in bed was a merry-go-round. I moved from the side of the bed she was departing from to stop her and then scurried around to the opposite side to straighten out the IV that had gotten entangled from her move. The nurses didn’t know what she was saying so they didn’t know she was hallucinating.

When my mom paused between bed-go-rounds I quickly grabbed the room phone and called my front desk interpreter. I asked him to call the third floor nurse and tell her what’s happening in Room 302. He called me right back and said that the nurses thought my mother was a frightened foreigner wanting to go home. The head nurse also said the doctor will take care of changing the medicine and calming my mother with a shot. This time I was the one who needed the rest so I headed back to the hotel.

“I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

The next morning I found my Mom sitting in bed eating breakfast and not trying to climb out of the bed to kill bugs. She smiled and said, “Miriam, guess what?” I had no idea but it sounded like good news. “What, Mom?”

“My doctor speaks French. It was fun using my French again. He said I can leave here July 5th, but if I walk daily I may be able to leave earlier.”

Oh, no, I thought, July 5th wasn’t good. Our return ticket to Miami, was for July 5, leaving from London, not Italy. This could be a huge problem even for a seasoned traveler.

“Mom, we really need to leave earlier than the fifth. I’ll help you walk every day.”

“I’m game,” answered my confident, French-speaking mother.

My mother, true to her word, worked hard and got stronger each day. It paid off and she was released on July 4th. Truly a “Day of Independence!”

“The Good Samaritan.” Luke 10:25-37

When we arrived at the local airport we encountered another problem. Our flight was running two hours late. This would get us to London after ten in the evening. My mother asked, ”Where are we going to stay in London?”

“Mom,” I answered, “The Palace Hotel is the listing on our tour. We’ll have to try that.”

“Excuse me,” said a deep voice from the seat behind us. “I use the Palace Hotel airport bus all the time. In fact, that’s what I’m going to catch tonight. I’ll help you.”

We were very tired when we stepped into the hotel lobby at 10:30 p.m. While settling my mother down in a comfortable chair I glanced up and saw a desk with a large sign with our tour’s name on it. Walking over to the desk I hoped that we had not been removed from the tour list.

“Ask and it will be given to you” Luke 11:9

My stomach was in a knot when I approached the tour desk and asked the young lady, “May I have the key to Miriam Gautier’s room?”

She searched her list and said, “Here you are,” as she casually handed me a key. Pointing to the left she said, “That elevator will take you to the fourth floor.” Grinning and holding the key in my hand I went to my mother to tell her the good news. “Mom, we have a room. We’re going home tomorrow!”

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the Faithful God. “ Deuteronomy 7:9

Eight and a half hours later, the 747 touched down on the Miami International

Airport runway. God was faithful to me, his frightened and unsure child, even when I couldn’t be faithful to Him. He is the “Faithful One.”

Miriam Gautier is a member of Springs Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Dunnellon, Fla.

@Copyright 2012 The Aquila Report – All rights reserved