Round Two

I had a reason to celebrate today. I made it through a day of work without having to use a single cough drop. This is a major accomplishment.

Just before I started working at the doctor's office, I went through a bad upper respiratory infection. I did antibiotics, cough medicines the works. I eventually had to have a heavy duty prescription cough syrup to get some relief from my cough. It's hard to have any energy when you stay up all night coughing. What a joy to realize I was on the road to recovery.

The road to recovery was long and tedious. I lived on cough drops it seems. Alas, over the Thanksgiving weekend, I gave in to round two of the bug. What caused this? It seems that many people have experienced round two, but in my case, it most likely happened because I wasn't getting enough rest. It's hard to rest when you are recovering at the end of round one as your spouse is just getting into the thick of his own round one. Yes, this nasty bug has gone through the entire family.

Now that I've finished my second round of antibiotics and trying my second prescription of allergy medication, relief is in sight. I made it through the entire day at work without using a cough drop. It most likely seems minor to most people, but to me it is a major event. I don't have a jar of candy at my desk, I have a jar of cough drops!

There is a saying that faith walks out when fatigue walks in. When the whole family is suffering from colds/flu, bacterial infections and whatever, it's easy to get tired and weary to the point that your faith suffers. But illness isn't the only thing that can weary you and your faith.

Maybe you're tired of your job, your marriage or your church. You've grown weary of things that are happening in this area of your life. Warning: This is the time to hold on to your faith more than any other. You see there is this beautiful promise in the Psalms that God inhabits the praises of His people.

Paul and Silas were weary from being beaten. There was a temptation to let faith walk right out the door, but they needed God then more than ever, and so they praised Him. God's presence caused an earthquake and freed the shackles of the prisoners. What an event that must have been!

It's been hard to sing lately, as singing often starts a round of coughing for me, but I've been praising God in my heart. I know that this nasty bug will pass and I'll live to tell about it. I'm making progress and I know the Lord is answering prayers for healing. I need Him now more than ever it seems, so I'm not going to let the weariness let my faith walk out the door. I'm going to cling to my Savior and praise Him, because He promises to be near me.

Grace to behave as His child

There is a story that Andrew Murry, a dedicated Christian, experienced a setback. He spent time with His Lord and had these words to say.

“First, He brought me here, it is by His will I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest.

Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child.

Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.

Last, in his good time He can bring me out again – how and when He knows.

Let me say I am here,

(1) By god’s appointment,

(2) In His keeping,

(3) Under His training,

(4) For His time.”

Andrew Murray

For me, the part about grace to behave as His child is what rings the most with me. You see, there are days and situations where I don't "feel" like being courteous and thoughtful. I love knowing that God gives me grace to behave as His child. It's not what I can do, but how much He wants to help me and God's resources are unlimited. I'm thankful to be His child, with a measure of grace to handle whatever comes my way. Praise God for grace!