Inktober tools, first sketch . . . and an answer to prayer

Having been a bit distracted lately, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take part in the Inktober sketching event this year, but today is only the third day; I decided to begin today with a sketch of the tools I plan to use. There just might be a bit of watercolor (such as the gold accents on my Kuretaki brush pen) but only when the sketch calls for it. Instead of following the drawing prompts for this year, I’m going to keep it simple and just draw whatever I want each day — less pressure that way!

The quote written in the lower left is a line from a fictional ebook I recently read: “What good is it to pray and plead for a miracle and then ignore what could be the answer.” It struck me because of my husband’s situation.

Bill has suffered with chronic nerve pain down his right arm for almost 5 years — It began soon after his first bypass surgery. We were told it was a pinched nerve, later that it was a damaged nerve, and that nothing could be done for the pain. Yet since his recent bypass, that pain is gone!

Two separate doctors have now speculated that perhaps it was a symptom of heart trouble, not a pinched nerve, the pain being caused by that nerve not getting adequate blood supply. One doctor said it was possible that the graft that failed, necessitating this repeat surgery, probably failed just weeks after his initial surgery 5 years ago. That artery was not a complete blockage at that time; it took 5 years to become completely blocked. And the nerve pain began about that time.

No one knows for sure but it is a curious thing. We have prayed for healing and relief from the constant pain in Bill’s arm for so long . . . . What if this bypass surgery is actually the answer to those prayers? Something that looked like a horrible thing to go through has actually been the thing that ended the chronic pain! Whatever the truth of the matter is, we are praising God that, except for normal pain following a major surgery, Bill is free from pain at long last!