In every Christian life there will be storms to distract us from service for God. He will go through them with us and bring us through safely. I must be getting on Satan’s last nerve because I have faced three storms in just four days this week.
After breakfast on Monday, my care giving angel, Alisha, was helping clean me up and saw swelling and discoloration below my left knee. We contacted my VA nurse and were told to call 911 immediately and have ER do an ultrasound to check for a blood clot. After three hours on a gurney in ER, I finally got the ultrasound done and an hour later a doctor told me it isn’t a blood clot, gave me an antibiotic and sent me back home. God was with me and brought me through that storm safely.
By Tuesday morning, I was hungry and feeling pretty good about things. I had a big breakfast and a bowl of canned chili-mac for lunch. Shortly after my care giver left at noon, I began to cramp then experienced wave after wave of diarrhea and vomiting until there was nothing left in me. I’ve only had food poisoning once 30 years ago, but I recognized immediately that there was something in the chili my body did not want to deal with. By Wednesday morning, I was empty and weak but not sure if my body was ready to handle food, so I tried a very light breakfast and lunch. When that went well, I had more for dinner and by Thursday morning I was back to normal and praising God for taking me safely through that second storm.
I had a new care giver Thursday morning. I guided her through the meals and other chores, getting to know her in the process. By the time she left at noon I was exhausted. I reclined my power chair for a nap. I no sooner dozed off when the phone rang. By the time I got my chair in an upright position, it had stopped, so I headed to the living room to see who called. I got within about four feet from the phone when my chair flashed a warning and stopped dead. I had been distracted by everything that I had let the battery in my chair get down to 15%. Panic began to build. When you can’t walk and your chair can’t roll, you are dead in the water like a sail boat without wind. I said a prayer, turned on the power and moved a few inches toward the phone before it would stop again. I kept repeating that process until I could reach the phone. I called my brother in Christ, who lives in my area. He said he would stop by with a long power cord. It appeared that God brought me through the third storm of the week. While praising God, the Holy Spirit began to prompt me to do something strange. He wanted me to try to back the chair. Now normally, it takes more power to back it than move forward, but I know to always trust and obey. I turned the power on one more time and pulled back on the joy-stick. The chair rolled steadily back across the living room carpet and into the kitchen where it finally came to rest right next to its charger. Just God’s way of saying, “A little icing on the cake for you, my child.”
I’m posting this Saturday evening with one more prayer of thanks that this week is finally coming to an end.
