Bad Day Turned Happy Day

I'm so blessed to have these three in my life.

A couple of weeks ago I had a particularly bad day physically.  I was weak and exhausted and needed to stay in bed all day.  Bedridden days certainly aren’t my favorite, but my family worked to make it a happy day for me anyway.

I woke up around 11:30am, and soon after that Adelaide wanted to come in for a visit.  I said that she could.  She snuggled me in bed, we talked, and we put on chapstick (one of Adelaide’s favorite things to do when she comes into my room).  After a few minutes I was too tired to keep visiting, so I told her that I was going to need to rest again soon.  Without any prompting, Adelaide sang her favorite lullaby to me and quietly left and closed the bedroom door.  What a special gift she gave me as she took care of me in the way she knew best.

In the afternoon William asked to come in and snuggle me.  I was glad to have him come in and keep me company.  And snuggling?  How could I turn that down?  He won’t be young much longer, so I want to soak up as many snuggles as I can.  Snuggling quickly turned into pulling out my laptop and looking at all the cool frogs and bugs to buy on insectlore.com.  And that quickly turned into watching YouTube videos about Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, tarantulas, and other such nasty things.  It grossed me out, but I learned a lot, and I got to spend quality time with my boy.  It was totally worth it.

Will took care of me all day by cooking delicious food, taking care of the children, doing laundry, and coming to check on me throughout the day.  He also spent time with me in the evening after the children were in bed.

Will, William, and Adelaide turned a stuck-in-bed day into a happy day.  I am so very blessed to have a loving husband and caring children.

A Hope that Is Sure

New Normal has been hard to get used to. It was months before I even wrote on my blog about New Normal because I kept hoping that my health would still improve some, but it never did. Then a few weeks after I wrote New Normal I actually had a good week! I had more good days in a row than I had had in a long time. For a week I didn’t feel like I was constantly on my last drop of energy or finishing up the last lap in a long race. Resting in bed was comfortable again.  My muscles didn’t burn and ache when I used them. My legs felt like they could hold me up.

I enjoyed the good week playing with my children, spending time with my husband, visiting with others, and feeling better than I had in months. I hoped that I was improving again. I hoped that New Normal would change. I hoped that I could begin to do more on a regular basis. I hoped that some minor tweaks in medications and supplements would help me to continue to see those improvements. I hoped that God was giving me a little more energy again.

However, the changes haven’t been permanent. They were only some good days, now followed again by what is indeed New Normal. It is easier to have bad days when all days are bad days, but when I get a taste of a little bit of energy again? That’s when the bad days and normal days become much harder to take.

On good days it is easy to hope for more. It is easy to hope that I will always have that much energy, but then the normal days and bad days come again. My energy leaves me. I eat healthy food, but my muscles still feel like they have no energy. I get adequate sleep, but still feel sleepy all day long. I have to lie in bed, and I miss my family. The hope of better days is taken away.

But my true hope has not been taken away, and it never can be.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 

      “For your sake we face death all day long;   

      we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39, NIV).

My hope is sure. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV).

What earthly hopes do you have that have been taken away? I encourage you to fix your eyes on Jesus. Believe in Him as your Savior and follow Him. Jesus offers hope that can never be taken away.

Photo Credit: K.Hurley