I dusted off an old story of mine, a short one I wrote while recovering from pneumonia years ago--one I thought you might enjoy as many of us have found ourselves in similar situations this time of the year. It's in my book of devotions, Babes With A Beatitude--Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of Faith
Amazon Books Barnes and Noble Booksellers Hope you like it!
(from Wikipedia)
Medicine For the Soul
“. . .And by His
stripes we are healed”—Isaiah 53:5.
“Pneumonia!” I wheezed. “No way!” The doctor prescribed
antibiotics, breathing treatments, an inhaler and pills, pills, pills! I
listened dutifully, occasionally nodding my head at all the medical
“mumbo-jumbo,” until he said something about “complete bed rest.”
“What was that about complete—”
“Complete bed rest,” he smiled as if he’d heard this
argument once or twice before.
“You mean I’ll have to stay in bed?” I asked dumbfounded.
“That’s right, you either rest at home or I send you off to
the hospital. The choice is yours.”
Back at home I
crawled onto the bed gingerly. This isn’t
so bad. I glanced over to my nightstand. Orange juice. Check. Tissue
box. Check. Vicks Vaporub. Check.
Medication. Check. Pre-rest check
completed. I reached for the heating pad and turned it on high, then slowly
slid back into two fluffy pillows.
Then I noticed something hanging from the ceiling, a small grey
chain. I squinted in the filtered light of drawn curtains. A chain of dust? A dust stalactite was hanging from the ceiling,
billowing gently in the soft breeze of the ceiling fan. Well, isn’t that nice! When I’m better, that will be the first thing I
clean. That’s for sure.
The phone rang—a friend calling to check up on me. We
talked a bit and she said a brief prayer for me until another call clicked in.
“Gotta go anyway,” she said cheerfully. “Get well!” If only she knew about the grey stalactite on my ceiling. The
intruding call turned out to be some other cheerful someone selling timeshares.
Right.
Maybe a long sip from the very tall glass of orange juice
on my bedside table would help. I glanced at the clock. Urggghhh. Time for my
breathing treatment. I emptied
an ampoule into the inhaler contraption and switched on the “Nebulizer.” Foggy
mist immediately discharged from both sides. I took a deep breath, well, as
deep as I could in a wheezing sort of way. My heart thumped faster, a side
effect of the medication. I hate this,
Lord! I felt shaky. Breathing
treatment. Check.
WHO WAS I KIDDING? My heart was heavy. I had exhausted
every possible distraction and found that ignoring the gentle, loving
ministrations of the Holy Spirit was impossible! I was angry with God about something I'd prayed about, but hadn't received an answer to. And there was the matter of pneumonia on top of that. . .
“Okay Lord!” I threw off the covers and cried out, “I’m
sick! I need You to heal me!
It’s not fair! Why did You allow me to get sick?” I wheezed in between gaping
sobs. “I-I trusted You!”
But His still, small voice directed me to the nightstand. There, amongst the tissues and medicines was my poor little bible, dusty from lack of use. Tears flooded my eyes. His love unfolded in my heart like a rose and I crumbled. The wall of disappointments, hurts and blaming God I had built in my
heart over the past few months fell apart. Trusting God means
giving up control. Trusting God is waiting on Him for help or deliverance from
my circumstances. Trusting God means not
blaming Him when things don’t turn out the way I want or expect them to.
The tears flowed. So did the prayers and later, quiet
contemplation of His Word. I was filled with His peace.
_______
It took being flat on my back to understand that I really
needed to be flat on my face before the Lord. I realized that on this earth we
may never know the answers to all the “Why’s,” but knowing the “Who,” and
trusting Him is infinitely more important.
Linda Kozar is the
co-author of Babes With A Beatitude—Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of
Faith (Hardcover/Ebook, Howard/Simon & Schuster 2009) and author of Misfortune
Cookies (Print, Barbour Publishing 2008), Misfortune Cookies, A
Tisket, A Casket, and Dead As A Doornail, (“When The Fat Ladies Sing
Series,” eBooks, Spyglass Lane Mysteries, 2012). Her latest novel Strands of
Fate released October 2012 (Hardcover/Ebook, Creative Woman Mysteries). She
received the ACFW Mentor of the Year Award in 2007, founded and served as
president of Writers On The Storm,
The Woodlands, Texas ACFW chapter for three years. In 2003, she co-founded,
co-directed and later served as Southwest Texas Director of Words For The Journey Christian Writers
Guild. She and her husband Michael, married 24 years, have two lovely
daughters, Katie and Lauren and a Rat Terrier princess named Patches.
Represented by: Wendy Lawton, Books & Such Literary Agency
Member of: CAN (Christian
Authors Network), RWA (Romance Writers of American), WHRWA (West Houston
Romance Writers of America), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), Writers
On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas Chapter of ACFW, Toastmasters (Area 56) The
Woodlands, Texas, The Woodlands Church, The Woodlands, TX.
So sorry you're under the weather, Linda. Thanks for reminding us that God is in control no matter what our situation. Hope you get well soon!
ReplyDelete~Nancy Jill
Thanks Nancy:) I am trying to make the most of my situation.
ReplyDeleteOh, Linda! My heart fell when I saw that x-ray. I was so afraid it was going to be much worse news than pneumonia! Though I must say I'm sorry for you that you have to suffer through pneumonia.
ReplyDeleteDear Sandra,
ReplyDeleteOh gosh--not this time my friend. That was a few years back. This time, all I have is a garden variety cold, and I'm sooooo thankful!