This Week

So, on Saturday night I had the privilege of spending the night in the hospital. I got to hang out all night with my sweet friend, Maricel. This was her 13th night there after having been hit by an SUV while walking her daughter down the sidewalk. With many chipped and broken bones, not the least of which is her broken pelvis, I was amazed that she could get up and walk a bit (very slowly and with a walker). We spent the night chatting, updating her blog, moving ice bags, looking for food, getting her vitals checked, sleeping in 15 minute blocks and finally journeying to the coffee shop at 6:30 am. Even with the pain meds she was still in quite a bit of pain and uncomfortable so she didn't sleep too well and therefore, neither did I. I'm so thankful she allowed me the privilege to hang out with her that night. At home on Sunday I felt like crap from lack of sleep, but I spent the day being so grateful to be doing our laundry, washing dishes and picking up toys, not to mention picking up the boys as well. I also felt a bit guilty about the fact that I got to do these tasks while Maricel continued to lay in her hospital bed. As this point she would probably just be thankful to get to the bathroom without being in pain.

I'm so thankful we're not always stuck with our narrow perspectives, that God can broaden our view at any time and then it's up to us as to what we do with that new view. Most of the time we'll be forced to make a decision between wallowing in self-pity or changing our perspective and moving forward with those new eyes. I tend to get stuck in my little world a bit too often and am learning to appreciate those jolts to my perspective, painful as they may be. If you were to read Maricel's and her husband's blogs you would wonder why God thinks they need a "jolt," but I have to think it's not really for them as much as for the people around them. But then I have to deal with the idea that someone else must suffer for my "benefit." That's not a pleasant thought. So, I must return to the fact I know to be true and that is, God is God and I am not, and, even more importantly, God is Good! It's not for me to understand why things happen in our lives, but to trust in God's goodness while He ruthlessly pursues us all.

This afternoon I got to spend three hours with Maricel at her house. She was transported home yesterday to continue her recovery from the hospital bed in her living room. She's doing about the same as when I last saw her on Sunday, but was thinking clear enough to direct the re-arranging of her living room while I was there.