Month: March 2018

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18

It was my turn to provide the amusement at the hospital. All the nurses had to do was listen to my side of the early morning telephone conversation. The snickering started when I was trying to get laundry accomplished even though I was at the hospital.

My hubby received a pass from washing clothes some twenty years ago after allowing a pen to burst and ruining several new pair of jeans. About a week ago, I was told that I needed to start teaching the boys and that hubby of mine to do some of their own laundry. It was in the plan to teach the boys because I want them to learn independence and be ready for the world. My hubby is a different story because I couldn’t quite grasp why this should be a priority now after all these years.

What was the reason that I haven’t given an in-depth lesson? Is it because I’m worried about job security? Is it because I love to do this ultimate hobby of mine? Is it because I enjoy touching their gross clothes? Nope! You see, all three of my boys have issues with the basic, beginning steps of laundry. It’s been years of listening to this broken record (that would be me) giving them the first step and still failing the test.

Let’s start with cleaning out pockets…impossible task. They remember for a while, but go right back to full pockets.  At least I haven’t found anything alive! The next monumental achievement would be to put the clothing the right way instead of inside out. Those stubborn pant legs just refuse to obey, right?

There I sat in a hospital room, trying to explain the intricacies of the washer and dryer. No, you couldn’t shove as much as possible into the washer. No, you couldn’t just gather and dump; you had to separate. No, they all don’t use the same temperature. No, you can’t dry everything in the dryer because some pieces of clothing must be hung.

The snickering got louder as my hubby was trying to explain what each piece of clothing was so that I could tell him what pile it went into. Do you know how hard it is to figure out what he’s talking about when he doesn’t even know the names of clothing?

It may have taken a lot of effort, but he was doing it! I was so proud of him. Just as a precaution, I might have strongly suggested putting a Shout Color Catcher sheet in each load…just in case. Those things are fantastic! They keep loose dye from bleeding into other clothes by absorbing and trapping that dye into the sheet.

Just like a pile of laundry, we need to deal with our sins (the dye: anger, bitterness, jealousy, resentment, unforgiveness) that can bleed into other areas of our lives causing the white and pure to become stained. How do we do that?  Guideposts had this prayer that would be a good place to start so God will absorb and trap before the staining takes place:

God, hear me and answer me. You know I am troubled by thoughts and feelings of anger, resentment and bitterness. You also know why. And You know how deep the hurt goes and how long I have lived with it. But I don’t want to live with it any longer. I don’t want to be an angry, resentful and bitter person. With Your help, I release my anger into Your hands. I surrender my resentment. I let go of my bitterness. Help me to keep letting go and release these toxic emotions as often as they try to return.

What if the dye has already bled into another piece of clothing? It’s next to impossible for us to turn a pair of pink underwear white again. If you weren’t relying on Him as Color Catcher in the first place, and you already see the stains, unlike us, He’s able to get the white back.

Today, rely on the greatest Color Catcher of all time to prevent unnecessary bleeding!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Saturday held fear for my oldest. He’s been a champ through everything, but he wasn’t thrilled with having to get an IV. He didn’t really want to experience it a second time but managed to tough it out. The next challenge on his list of firsts was having a PICC line inserted.

When the doctors told him that there would be no eating or drinking for a week, he was not amused. My boy likes to eat! They decided pretty quickly that he needed nutrients and fat in his body. Since he wouldn’t be getting those through his mouth, they were going to have to go directly into his body. He looked at me and said, “I don’t agree with this.”

What does a mother do at this point? It was necessary to have the PICC line, but I respect his thoughts and opinions. So, we had a discussion because this was the first time he balked at anything the doctors decided. He may not have been thrilled about not eating and drinking, but he was fairly easy going about it after a few mumbled comments. I think it boiled down to fear of the unknown and not having any say in this treatment.

After we discussed why it was important, he agreed. The only problem was thinking about how it would be done. It was the first time I was uncomfortable not being with him because I knew how he was feeling about it. The fantastic part was he never had to leave his room; they came to him.

They sure came to him in all their glory! We had a team of three who breezed in and the comedy routine started. My oldest relaxed faster than I’ve ever seen him do before, which allowed me to not have any reservations about leaving the room.

I was shaking my head as the “class clown” was spouting off one crack after another…he was great! The other two seemed to balance everything perfectly. They worked together like a well-oiled machine and were done within an hour. The star patient was all smiles when we came back into the room.

The PICC line that would be used to administered his TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) while he’s at the hospital got me thinking about the necessity of having our own TPN.  Our TPN would mean Transformative Personal Nourishment.  Just like my oldest needs his TPN to keep him healthy and growing, we need ours too.  We just don’t need a PICC line inserted, we have a direct line already established through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Let’s get our TPN today with some quality time with God!

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

My boys were watching a lecture on music when my oldest stood up, then dropped to the ground in pain. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but it was clear that he needed medical care and he needed it right away. After he was able to catch his breath, he gingerly made his way to our vehicle while clutching his stomach and not standing up straight. The pain that he was going through was scary, and I wasn’t sure if I should be the one to take him somewhere. I was wondering if we should call an ambulance.

Stop one told us he needed an emergency room for images and stop two thought for sure we were heading to surgery for an appendicitis, but that was not to be. They couldn’t get a clear picture of his appendix. What they could see didn’t seem to show what they expected. After being strapped onto a stretcher, we headed by ambulance to stop three.

That afternoon, we arrived at a fantastic hospital with a team of doctors and surgeons ready to figure out what was going on with my son. They had met and discussed his case before we even arrived. After performing a test, they were ready with a game plan for the next step almost immediately. After several tests, a diagnosis was made. We’d be in the hospital for a while.

I’m sure that all hospitals strive to make a stay comfortable and serene. This hospital does that too; however, it also turns darkness into sunshine, cries into laughter, and stress into hope. When a frightening experience is turned into one that has seen blessing after blessing, it humbles you. It wakes you up in a way that nothing in the world can. God can speak to us the loudest in emergency situations. His peace has wrapped me in a cocoon of joy amid all the shenanigans.

Shenanigans? What a crazy word for hospitals, right? I’m talking shenanigans in the best possible way. The type that makes you laugh out loud and makes you reevaluate your own seriousness. Laughter makes problems shrink within moments.

I could talk about the brilliant people we’ve met, I could talk about the steps that had God’s hands all over them, and I could talk about God’s saving grace and mercy. I could go on forever about the overwhelming gratitude that I’ve been feeling. I have thankfulness for everything from insurance, to my hubby’s job, to where we went and when, to a flooding calmness, to finding the amusement in situations, to help from others, to private bathrooms, to the amount of people who cares and prays, to not allowing fear to overcome the truth that we know Who’s in control.

All the medical professionals that we’ve dealt with during the past several days, from our first to last stop, have been amazing and I’ll be forever grateful to their kindness and sunshine. As I sit here in this hospital listening to the laughter drifting through the door beside our lime green wall, I recognize what we’re looking for isn’t always in the perfect places.

Joy is not only found on vacation or when things are going right. The joy that surpasses all others is found in the places where nobody wants to find themselves. When you catch yourself finding extreme amusement and having the best time you’ve had in a long time within a hospital that carries uncertainty and unanswered questions, you see the true joy and peace of God.

The shenanigans of the day: hospital gowns. First step…learning to put them on with the opening in the back. Second step…teaching a boy to lie in bed with a blanket draped over their legs or keeping their legs together and flat on the bed. Another thing I’m thankful for is boys being allowed underwear beneath the gown. Third step…not allowing the nurses to corrupt your teenager with said gown and “giving someone a show” hilarity.

We won’t even mention about the use of portable urinals and the great conversations about how awesome those bottles can be…even when not in the hospital. You see, these shenanigans are just as special in overall well-being as all the other medical miracles. I believe that God is at work shining through these individuals who bring laughter and joy out of serious situations. God is certainly not only interested in healing the body. He’s interested in healing all those dark, depressing places that only he’s willing to go.

I thought about making this about being exposed, but there’s something even more important shining through. It has to do with the joy of bright colors, positive attitudes, and relief through laughter. It has to do with true peace and joy.

It took someone with a kind heart to come up with taking a scary CT scan and turning it into an underwater adventure for children. To my delight, I found the whole room transformed into this amazing place where I wanted to be. I was experiencing my own ocean exploration. It was fantastic! This is again seeing the silly as an enormous blessing. I’m sure there have been many smiles from children during a scary time.

My son got on the bed and was taken into the machine. A voice said to take a deep breath in. I listened. A voice said to hold that breath. I listened. A voice said to let the breath out. I listened. This is when it dawned on me that I wasn’t getting the scan done, my son was! Yet, I listened.

Do I listen as quickly as I did with that voice when I’m told that I will not be crushed when I’m pressed on every side? How about when I’m told that I won’t be in despair when I’m perplexed? Do I immediately listen when I’m told I won’t be abandoned when I’m persecuted? Do I take it as fact when I’m told that I won’t be destroyed when I’m struck down?

I challenge you to allow the peace of the knowledge that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. What an awesome statement of God’s love in us when we experience pure joy during the struggles. What a freeing thing to laugh and celebrate all the shenanigans amid the trials! It isn’t a crime to find the small things to celebrate or to laugh while in the rough spots of life; it’s a testimony!

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Proverbs 4:25

I had a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself, to buy an exercise ball that could be used as a chair for my desk. It would help my posture and maybe even work my core. After finishing a workout the other day, I was using that ball to simply relax and stretch out sore muscles. My back was on the ball, my arms were out to my sides not quite touching the ground, and my toes were helping me balance…barely. I guess I didn’t have great stability in my backbend position, plus I’m a little short.

My oldest son was sitting behind me on the couch with an ottoman in front of him. The pup started barking, and my ever so helpful son told me that his dad was home. I would’ve never guessed! I’m still sprawled out on the ball when out of the corner of my eye I saw the dog pivot away from the window and head in my direction towards the door.

What do you think happened? Did the pup knock me off the ball? Absolutely not; he didn’t even get passed me before I lost my focus, and therefore, my balance. The ball started rolling backwards with me still on it. My arms and legs were completely off the ground at this point, and all I could do was tuck and roll. I believe that I performed some sort of awesome backward somersault that would impress even the best gymnast. There was only one problem that kept me from a solid 10. I slid sideways, and the ottoman stopped my momentum. I took a corner to the leg.

Please remember my considerate son that is watching all this go down. Did he try to stop the ball from its out of control rolling? Nope! Did he reach down his hand to help me up? Nope! That would be too hard to do when one can’t stop laughing. It had nothing to do with his strength since he finds it so amusing to lift me right off my feet a little too often.

I was lying there a little stunned while that wonderful son of mine met me hubby at the door to tell him he needed to help me up, which sparked another series of guffaws from himself. My hubby rushed into the living room with a worried look on his face and confusion radiating off him due to the laughing hyena still at the door. The look on his face sent me into a fit of giggles as I explained the situation and how I could already feel my leg bruising!

With as much dignity as I could muster, I informed my hubby I didn’t need help and could get up on my own thank-you-very-much. I promptly told him it was his fault because he started the chain reaction when he pulled into the driveway. He just shook his head, and I could tell he was thinking that we were all nuts and wasn’t ever sure what he’d be walking into when crossing the threshold into our circus that we call family.

The next day, my oldest asked me how my leg was while one side of his mouth kept creeping up as he was trying to hold in another laugh. I took great pleasure in seeing his eyes bulge when I lifted the bottom of my pants to show him the two-inch by one-inch dark purple bruise that took up residence on my leg. It was the perfect opportunity to say, “And you just thought it was sooo funny.” A little guilt might’ve been good for him; however, I ruined it with another chuckle.

How often do we try to stay balanced when we know that any given moment the slightest thing could cause us to topple? The pup never pushed me over; that was all my doing. It all had to do with my focus. As soon as I looked off to the side, I was a goner! As it says in Proverbs, we need to let our eyes look straight ahead and fix our gaze directly before us.

Instead of having a wobbly foundation, I challenge you to allow your faith to become planted like the roots from the strongest of trees so when the wind blows from the east or west you’re able to bend but won’t go tumbling down. When a situation crops up that you weren’t expecting, you can stay balanced without toppling over because you’re focused on the promises of God. Your eyes will be directly on Him.

I challenge you to have a couple verses that can be referred to for you to stay balanced. Don’t allow distractions cause you to tumble!

 

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. John 1:9

Are you able to agree with me about being sick and tired of winter? It’s so bad, right? If only we could see that sun again! Have you been able to keep your body energized, a smile on your face, and high hopes for the day? I’m so proud of you if you said, “Yes!”

I’m sorry to say that all the rest of you fall into my group. Let’s just let it out and own it. I’m sending you an imaginary balloon to hold, so here we go…we’ve dealt with sickness, dreary weather, no sunshine, miserable attitudes, and it’s even too cold for ice-cream! The animals seem to have disappeared too. It’s miserable, and I’m tired of it. Ok, you can let your balloon go now that the pity-party is over. Feel better?

I’m not quite done with mine, but almost. Let me give you a recap of my Monday. We had to be out the door by 7:30 because my youngest was getting braces put on. He was in no mood to put a smile on his face because he feared the process. It was a battle to get any happiness out of him. My hubby was packed up and getting ready to leave for work. He’d be gone for several days, so I knew I was on my own with the whole braces issue.

Now let’s talk about my oldest. My hubby and he were several hours away from Friday morning until Sunday night at an event out of state. They got home late fighting exhaustion, and my oldest was dealing with a cold. After he struggled to get going Monday morning, I told him to make sure he had all his school work to take with him because he’d be sitting for some hours after his own appointment while waiting for his brother.

When we made it to the orthodontist’s office, my oldest looked at me and informed me he forgot his math book. The book that I specifically said to make sure he had. Well, nothing we could do at that point except some extra literature. It was shortly after 8:00 in the morning; this didn’t bode well for the rest of the day!

The braces were on and my youngest was pleasantly surprised that they weren’t that big of a deal…yet. We stopped at the grocery store and a pharmacy on the way home to get some cold medicine. We got back to our humble abode and got everything put away. We had lunch before my oldest crashed for a short bit. The phone rang letting us know we were getting company. I warned them about the sickie in our house, but they were ok with that.

Our company left and my oldest wasn’t looking that great. All I kept thinking about was how we needed to do some more school! At this point my youngest was complaining that his teeth hurt, and my oldest was complaining about his stomach hurting. What? I didn’t have anything for a stomach issue, I was prepared for the cold. I realized then that school wasn’t going to be happening. So, I made my oldest get a bucket to keep near him. It’s a good thing I did too because he promptly lost everything that was in his stomach and then some!

After getting everything under control in the house, my pup had to go out. I didn’t notice anything wrong until I started coming back to the door. That’s when I noticed the bulb (that I just had my hubby replace that morning) on the landing under the light. I was a bit confused because the light was still shining! I picked it up to find that it apparently burst from the socket, leaving the inside behind. I’d never seen such a thing. Chalk it up to another crazy part of my day!

Now that I look back, I choose to believe it was God sending me a message. I needed to stop my moping about what’s going on in life and see that no matter what was blowing up around me, I could keep on shining. I was ashamed to admit that I hadn’t been shining too much lately.

You see, all we need is the inside to stay plugged into the electricity of God. All that outside stuff…the things that go wrong, the healthy body that feels like it left, the money that has dried up, the sunshine that’s not showing up, the attitudes all around us…that can’t take away our connection that keeps the light shining from inside us. Even if there are clouds, the sun is still shining above, and we need to trust the days will eventually become bright again, right?

I challenge you to stay connected to the true source of light and keep on shining when the outer covering is blowing up around you. Remember how my youngest feared the process? Don’t fear the process; learn from it. Become a stronger person because of it.

When we keep the inside light shining, it illuminates the things we missed because of the dark. Suddenly, I noticed the robins are all around again and all types of birds were outside singing away! There’s the first step telling me the days are going to get warmer and brighter. Reconnect if that’s what you need to do, then let everyone see that you still shine!