Tuesday, December 23, 2008

In His Hands


A dear friend called tonight while I was finishing up the Unfettered Heart post and tweaking Christmas Letters. I'm sorry to have to admit that I kept typing, listening with only one ear and half a mind, as she asked if I could be her kids' contact in case they had an emergency while she and her husband attended a fancy-shmancy Christmas party. "Of course!" was my immediate, instinctive answer. Then I flew back from cyber-space with a jolt:

"Wait a minute!--I just remembered!--I'm wondering if we have chicken pox going here..."

She explained that her kids had been exposed, too, and besides she didn't think I'd really be needed. It was just a precaution...  At this point her husband called out that it was time to leave. Hurriedly I agreed to be on stand-by, and we rang off.

About fifteen minutes later she called again. "Um, actually we're headed in the opposite direction than we thought we were going--[the hostess] surprised us and we're headed to Fargo to have supper and drive around to look at lights. We're in a limo... Can you please pick up the kids?"

This time I was paying a little more attention when I committed myself.  "We still don't know about the chicken pox, but if you're okay with it then I guess I am."

The other factor to consider was the snow, but I didn't know that at the time. I knew it had been snowing a bit, but I hadn't been out or even looked outside all day. Why? Because I'd been blogging, and updating laundry, then blogging some more. I prepared a couple meals and quickly cleaned the bathroom so someone could take a shower, then went back to blogging until I was interrupted to check the fiery-red rash that suddenly appeared in my son's armpit. I gave him a Benadryl, and blogged some more. A couple hours later the rash had not changed, and I finally took a picture and emailed it to far-flung family members who are more familiar with chicken pox and other maladies than I am. This produced more questions than answers, as did calling the clinic's triage nurse for her opinion. I helped my son get a soothing bath, and then...put the finishing touches on my blog as the sun went down...

I hope blogging isn't becoming an addiction for me--a new modern-day addiction, like texting, except cheaper. I try to discipline myself, but on some occasions I admit I'll pass up food, friends, teaching, reading, and sleep in order to blog... (Wait until my doctor gets ahold of this! Or my siblings--at the moment I'm delinquent on editing projects for each of them! Ei-yi-yi!)  :~(  On the other hand, I have a Bible scholar sibling who does the same thing sometimes--just feels like whatever God is compelling him to do is more important than meeting his physical needs, etc... Am I finding a new idol, or is God purposing my writing???

I agreed to bring my friend's kids to our house, and prepared to do so. That's when I discovered there were 6-8 inches of new snow outside! It took me 45 minutes to get to the car, start it so it could warm up, clear it and the sidewalk of snow, and get out of the driveway. The great thing about this was that after all that blogging, I really needed the fresh air! As deep as the snow in our driveway was, I envisioned bad roads; but they were already plowed (the DOT workers obviously did not spend their whole day blogging). The kids were ready when I got to their house, and they enjoyed the reunion once we arrived back at ours. 

Now all our kids are staked out in their respective parts of the house having a slumber party and a camp out, and I'm free to...blog again! (No, no, no, Lattice! Sleep! That crazy doctor says you need 12 hours of sleep tonight! Wouldn't that be nice?! Now go drink your dirt [a.k.a. Bentonite toxin-binder, a.k.a. kitty litter] and go..to..bed!)

The interesting thing is the tangible feeling I have that I'm resting in God's presence right now. Here I am, blogging along seemingly self-indulgently, at the close of a day (several days, in fact) for which the ultimate agenda--not the one I planned, but the way things turned out--has seemed impractical and unreasonable. I'm not sure if today's blogging is all my own choice or if God's compelling me to do it, but I know I don't have the focus or energy to fulfill the other dutiful plans and good intentions I think would be valuable around here. It seems like almost nothing "important" is getting done, and yet I am certain I've--we've--been in His hands... Is it a Mary vs. Martha kind of thing, where sitting at the Master's feet is more important than chores? Or am I making excuses? Have I been sitting at the Master's feet? Or just gratifying myself while He keeps protective watch over me?

Lord, thank You.  I don't know what that rash is, or what You're doing, but I'm glad You're here. I commit our son and the other children into Your hands and ask for Your healing touch, and I thank You for helping me carve out time to wrap up loose blogging ends as they came to mind today. My time and this blog are in Your hands, too. Do You think tomorrow we could focus on that stack of dishes out in the kitchen and catch up on the floors and finances? I think we have some bills due...

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.  --Proverbs 19:21

2 comments:

Far Side of Fifty said...

So did J get more of a rash? Was it Chicken Pox? My 2 cents says it looks like PI :)

Lattice said...

The rash is resolving itself, but remains a mystery to us. It's neither chicken pox nor poison ivy, and has not spread or changed since the first day except to gradually fade. Someone suggested Fifths Disease, but the online photos don't look similar to me. I don't know...

A mixture of Tea Tree Oil and witch hazel, diluted with olive oil, seems to relieve the itch at least as effectively as Benadryl (and w/o the side effect of drowsiness), and other than that the rash isn't bothersome. So we're managing the itch and letting it run its course. It does not seem to be infectious.