After church today and before lunch, we went over to Strawbridge Lake to walk along the water. It's a suburban park but still beautiful. We had been there before but hadn't hiked the whole length of the lake. So it seemed like a good thing to do today. It was breezy but warm and comfortable. The grounds are lovely with huge, well established trees and a great variety of them.
After the couple of fun things we had in our schedule last week, I was looking forward to a week of routine again. But it was not to be.
On Sunday afternoon, Andy told me he thought he had a urinary tract infection. After thinking about it with him, I agreed he was probably in the beginning stage. So Monday morning, I called his primary doctor to see what we should do. I was told they were booked solid with appointments, and I should call his urologist since he had history with him. So I called the urologist, but didn't get a person and had to leave a message. Several hours later, a nurse called back to tell me his doctor was on vacation but another doctor in the practice was prescribing an antibiotic. And sure enough, the pharmacy soon called to let me know his medicine was ready for pick up. I admit, I was relieved I didn't have to take him to the doctor or the lab to leave a specimen.
On Tuesday, Andy wanted me to look at his arm where I discovered a tick. I attempted to pull it out but was unsuccessful in getting the whole tick. I decided to take him to Urgent Care to have a professional with better tools get the whole tick removed.
The doctor spent a lot of time digging to remove the tick but it was quite embedded. He kept going out for more tools, coming back in and trying again. He finally succeeded. Then Andy was given a dose of doxycycline as a preventative to Lyme's disease.
The next morning I was in a staff meeting at church when one of the guys on staff came into the room where we were meeting and asked me to come with him. He had left the staff meeting to take a phone call, which is when he noticed that Andy was in distress. When I went to the front office, Andy was sitting in his chair, crying. He couldn't tell us what was wrong. He was pretty agitated and mixed up in his explanation of what was wrong. So I took him home and stayed with him the rest of the day.
Now here is an example of the Lord's grace. I was talking that afternoon with my friend, telling her about how Andy was doing. When I mentioned doxycycline, she interrupted me with how it had affected her when her doctor prescribed it this past winter. She said it made her "crazy." She said it shouldn't be in his system long. And it wasn't. The next morning, he seemed back to normal. But that was really scary. Now I know not to ever let any doctor give him that medicine. It's interesting that the side effects enumerated on doxycycline give a list a mile long, but I couldn't find anything that indicated "craziness" as one of the side effects. I really don't need that kind of drama.
Last night I was preparing to get ready for bed and got to wondering where Andy was. It was awfully quiet. I went looking for him and found him lying on the couch. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he didn't mind sleeping on the couch so there would be room for all the other people. This had happened one other time, too. So I explained to him that everyone else was taken care of, and he should sleep in his bed. He didn't know where it was so I led him to the bedroom.
I don't know why he gets so confused in our home. This morning he asked me where I lived. So I'm guessing it wasn't clicking with him who I was. That makes sense when he says things like we just don't seem to have much time together recently. In fact, this morning when he said that, I told him that we're always together and maybe he thinks we don't have much together time because he gets confused with who I am. He agreed that might be a possibility.
My life is not dull anyway.
I'm currently working my way through two books: Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray and The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.
Abide in Christ is actually a 31 day devotional for fellowship with Jesus. This last week, I read the devotional for Day 7 where Murray explains how when we abide in Christ, he is our wisdom. I enjoyed thinking about this. I remember claiming James 1:5 when I had no clue how to deal with the children when they needed discipline. James says that if we "lack wisdom, we should ask of God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him." I know God gave me wisdom innumerable times. But 1 Corinthians 1:30 says: "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption."
So when we abide in Christ, we are partakers of his wisdom. In Him "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," (Colossians 2:3).
Murray says: "The life you have in Christ is a thing of infinite sacredness, far too high and holy for you to know how to act it out. It is He alone who can guide you, as by a secret spiritual instinct, to know what is becoming your dignity as a child of God, what will help and what will hinder your inner life, and specially your abiding in Him. Do not think of it as a mystery or a difficulty you must solve. Whatever questions come up as to the possibility of abiding perfectly and uninterruptedly in Him, and of really obtaining all the blessing that comes from it, always remember: He knows, all is perfectly clear to Him and He is my wisdom."
These words were such an encouragement to me, especially as I have been feeling alone and tempted to fear making wrong decisions. But I don't need to fear. When I abide in Him, he has all the wisdom I need - a treasure chest full of it!
No comments:
Post a Comment