sick

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The Day I Got My Reprieve

I got a one day reprieve yesterday that was pretty amazing.

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Let me take you back three days earlier … I was doing a funeral service for a family, after which we went to the cemetery for the interment.

I generally ride with the funeral director in the lead car and this time was no exception. It was a quick ride because the cemetery was literally minutes away.

When we had finished at the graveside, I gave my condolences once again to the family and got  back into the lead car.

The funeral director got behind the wheel and shut the car door. Almost simultaneously to the door being shut, he sneezed really hard.

Immediately I thought, “Is there any way I can keep myself from breathing for the next few minutes until we get back to the funeral home?!”

That would have been a tricky act because how do you talk and not take a breath? … I’m sure he would have noticed if all the words out of my mouth came while I was exhaling. You could only keep that up so long.

But I knew it was not good. I was trapped in a car with the germs swirling around our confined compartment.

What were the chances I would escape unscathed?

Turns out, not that great! The next morning I woke up with a sore throat. All day, though I was drinking water by the gallon, it seemed my throat kept getting a little sorer.

That was Friday, and I still felt good despite my sore throat. The next morning, however, my sore throat remained so I tried my personal remedy for getting rid of a cold: sweat it out on the rink.

And that’s what I did. I wore something around my neck and an extra tee shirt. After hockey I still felt okay but, as the day wore on, my sore throat also turned into laryngitis.

That’s okay … unless you’re a pastor and you have to preach the next day! By dinner time I had nothing coming out of my vocal cords. I could only whisper one word at a time.

It was not looking good. I went to bed early and my wife, Lily, prayed for me that I would be able to speak the next day.

At church on Sunday, the service leader also prayed for my voice. Someone else offered me some throat lozenges.

When I got up to preach, my voice was clear – no cracking, no trouble putting sentences together. I didn’t even need to take a drink while I spoke.

I felt a little weak but, other than that, I didn’t feel too bad.

Well that was Sunday morning. By late Sunday afternoon I went to sleep, not feeling well. I even took some Tylenol before bed, and I don’t usually do that.

This morning I was hoping I would be a little better, but nope. I feel worse – achy, shivery, with a little bit of a headache.

But did I ever get a reprieve Sunday morning! Prayer works.

Here’s the thing: Some of our needs are selfish; they are for our own benefit. We wonder why God doesn’t necessarily answer them the way we want. But if your need is in line with God’s purposes, you can count on Him answering your prayer. I never doubted that I would be able to preach; I was just amazed how He did it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has God come through for you in a big time of need? Leave your comments below.

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I Got Sick Anyway

I did everything right and I still got sick! Has that ever happened to you? Well, that’s where I ended up.

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My wife came down with a flu of all flu’s. I’ve never seen her down for so long before. It hit her quick and it hit her hard.

Lily was in bed for two days, and dragged herself around the house for over a week. She even said that maybe next year she would get the flu shot … that on it’s own tells me just how sick she was!

This was not something I was going to catch if I could help it. So I did something I haven’t done often in our 30 years of marriage: I slept in the spare room.

There was just no way that I was going to breathe in what she was breathing out. I would get infected as I slept, completely unaware of what was happening to me.

It kind of reminds me of two guys back in college who decided they were going to prank their neighbours next to them in our dorm.

Their room was just on the other side of the wall and there happened to be a hole in that wall … on one side anyway. The guys made a small hole in their room at the same place.

During the night as the neighbours slept in bliss, the guys blew baby powder into their room. The neighbours next door never knew what hit them.

In the morning they woke up to their room covered in what looked like fresh fallen snow. The white powder was everywhere, on the beds, in their hair. … I think there was retaliation the next night.

The thing was the powder was silent. It came over them when they slept; they never noticed it at all.

And there was no chance I was having my immune system hijacked by Lily turning towards me and breathing flu germs in my face all night.

She realized this flu was not something that should be passed on and volunteered to sleep in the spare room for another four nights.

That’s five nights we slept in separate rooms while being in the same house. That has never happened before!

We did all the right things. I stayed away even when she desperately wanted a hug, just some human contact … well, I sort of hugged her at arms length. I was also washing my hands like a surgeon – I hope surgeons wash their hands as much as I did.

In the end, she slowly came back to the land of the living, yet still low on energy. She seemed to have recovered enough for me to let her back in our bed.

And then it happened. I was drinking lots of water – tons of it – getting plenty of sleep, exercising and taking care of myself. But I woke up one morning with a scratchy throat.

I didn’t end up as sick as she had been, but for all my purposeful, proactive prevention, the sickness didn’t escape me. I’ll be okay.

Here’s the thing: Sin has this kind of ability to sneak up on us. We can do all the right things, stay clear of triggers, give a wide birth to temptation. But when we are not looking, when we least expect it, sin can creep in when we thought we were in the clear. We can never let our guard down.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has snuck up on you, even when you took precautions? Leave your comment below.

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It’s Spring and I’m Sick Already

I hate getting sick; I really hate getting sick in the spring. When the weather starts to warm up and there is more to do outside, that’s when being sick is the worst.

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If it’s cold out, you don’t want to go outside anyway – that’s the time to be sick. You’re going to be inside, so what does it matter if you’re wearing jeans and a sweatshirt or a few layers of clothing and a heavy blanket?

No one is going to see you anyway; they are all at home too, unwilling to go out in the cold.

But you can’t live like that when it’s nice outside, and you certainly don’t want to live that way when it’s warm out. Every time you go by a window you wish you felt better so you weren’t stuck inside.

I don’t like admitting it, but I think I’ve come down with a cold or something. All week I’ve had this dry cold; there’s been a catch in my throat that makes me bark. I’ve felt fine, but the cough hasn’t gotten better – if anything, as the week progressed, it’s getting worse.

I’ve been thinking that maybe I’m reacting to some of my medications, or possibly I’m developing an allergy. But this morning, after playing hockey, I’m feeling a little weak and achy.

Now that’s a sure sign for me that I’m under the weather. That achy feeling combined with being a little clammy, that’s summertime sickness.

What makes it worse is that we’re going on vacation for a couple of weeks. It’s not a good time to be feeling this way.

I’ve heard some say that when we carry stress for a while and then we get a break, our bodies say, “That’s it! I’ve had enough!” and go on strike.

Others say when we push ourselves too hard and don’t recharge our bodies they are not able to fight off the germs floating around in the air and we become more susceptible to getting sick.

So I guess there is something worse that being sick in the spring or summer, and that is being sick in the spring when you’re on vacation.

The whole purpose of taking a vacation right now is to get some needed rest. Well, I’m going to be restless if I’m only able to look out the window at birds, see the trees bud and watch the grass turn green.

I wouldn’t mind it so much if all I had to do outside is rake the lawn or clean the deck, but the trails are opening up for mountain biking and golf courses are right ready to put the pins on the greens.

What I need is some kind of pill that will fast-track me back to health. Since my heart attack three years ago I now take pills every day … what’s one more pill if it will get me the results I’m looking for?

The reality is I’m just going to have to slow down, get some rest and wait it out. Oh, and take vitamin C.

Here’s the thing: The need for rest is built into us. We need it, but often times we don’t get enough of it because we are doing too much. Sickness is a forced rest for the body. Spiritually speaking, falling to sin is a sign you need to find rest in God. When temptation to sin is too much for you, that’s an indicator you need to spend time resting in the Lord.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are your indicators that you need to take a rest? Leave your comment below.

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Why You Get Springtime Colds

There’s nothing worse than a springtime cold – partly because you’re not supposed to get a cold when the weather is warm (or just “warmer” this spring).

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Colds are for the dead of winter when it’s nasty outside, -30 and everyone is trapped inside to spread their germs around like kids trading hockey cards in Johnny’s basement.

But I could see this one coming on. I could have predicted it. I let myself get run-down and then put myself in situations where I could easily catch what someone else was trying to get rid of.

I had a couple of late nights and then a trip to Toronto and back the same night. The next morning I had to be up for a seven o’clock meeting, so I only got a few hours of sleep.

I knew right then I was vulnerable. My office is rather frigid at this “in between seasons” time of year, so I was also a little chilled during the day.

Then on the weekend, at a family get together, there were several who were fighting off colds and other bugs, and Sunday I shook a lot of hands at church, hands that are filled with germs.

Monday I started sneezing and blowing my nose. I don’t think I’ve ever sneezed as much as I have this week. I would say for the first four days I must have sneezed about thirty times each day.

I normally sneeze in two’s. My brother’s sneeze pattern is about 4 or 5 in a row. This week I was sneezing like my brother, multiple sneezes almost every time.

Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat and I worried that I wouldn’t have a voice to preach on Sunday. I know my congregation prays for me … I’m just hoping they’re praying that I have a voice and not the other way around!

The last two days I really haven’t felt all that great. But this morning, after a very restless night, I thought playing hockey would be the ticket to get me feeling better.

There was no sore throat when I got up so I put on an extra sweatshirt and let my pores push all those bad bugs out of me while I sweat. I wrote about this method in my blog “Guaranteed To Cure The Common Cold” (you can read it here).

This is not the time of year to be having a lingering cold. It’s no fun BBQ-ing and not being able to taste the Montreal Steak Spice on your steak, or being able to smell the fresh breeze while you’re outside doing yard work.

No one wants to be looking out the window at the green grass, budding trees and feeling too lousy to get out there to do anything.

It’s a different story in the middle of the winter with the snow piled up to the window sills and the wind howling at the front door. When it’s like that you’re almost glad you don’t feel like going outside.

I guess I better pay closer attention to the needs of my body.

Here’s the Thing: Like a springtime cold, when you find yourself in a situation when you think, “This shouldn’t be happening to me”, take time to dissect it. God may be trying to teach you through your experience. Don’t just accept it without seeking to find what God wants you to learn from it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you learned from a situation you didn’t think you should be in? I’d really like to hear from you. You can leave a message below.

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How Being Sick Hijacks Your Whole Life

This week I got sick. Ya, ya, I know, I just wrote about how to keep from getting sick (“Four things you need to divert a cold”). But before you get ready to sue me for bad medical advice, you need to know that this sickness was different. I got food poisoning.

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My wife, Lily, thinks I got the flu but I know what I had and it was food poisoning. I think she wants it to be the flu so I can’t blame her for feeding me that leftover chicken last Monday.

It’s not like the chicken had been left on the counter and the flies had been circling for a few days, but it had been in the fridge past my internal best before date. It’s just a sixth sense I have.

I didn’t even see it coming, though the evening before my stomach was rumbling. I didn’t feel bad and just imagined that by morning everything would be normal. Well, about 5 am on Tuesday things were NOT normal.

I spent the next three hours in and out of the bathroom … enough said.

I was achy all over and that lasted the rest of the day. I was so wiped that I slept several times during the day to the point that I was completely disoriented.

The day seemed to last forever. I turned on the TV at one point, thinking it must be late afternoon, only to realize that it was only 1 pm. I had no energy and I felt so weak, much like a kid in the grocery store who’s had a meltdown, sprawled on the floor near the sugar cereal aisle.

There was nothing that could appease me. I didn’t dare eat anything – the memory of the early morning dash made all food totally unappealing. Sipping water at first was huge, like a child taking his first ever steps across the room.

I held my breath to see what would happen or which way it would go. I could hear it travelling through my system, at times like a gurgling brook, then like some light rapids, and finally dropping quite low in my system like a waterfall.

At least it was some entertainment. I was pretty bored all day, not that I didn’t have anything to do. There were things for me to work on, things I really needed to be working on, but I only had the energy to listen to my stomach get a workout while sipping water.

I fell asleep on the couch at about eight in the evening and, when I came to just before 10, I noticed that the achy-ness had gone. I breathed a sigh, and knew it was over and I’d be alright the next morning.

I called it a day and went to bed.

Here’s the thing: Bad food can impact everything about you, all your body parts, and even your thoughts and emotions. Not dealing with sin does the same thing. Not only will it affect your thoughts, emotions and action, but in some cases it can affect your health as well. Make speedy confession part of your internal best before date.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you experienced that took control of your body? Leave your comment below.

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She Made Me Sick

It almost never happens. In fact, I can’t ever remember a time when it’s happened before. But it happened this weekend: my wife, Lily and I got sick at the same time. Usually, one of us is there for the other one. Well, maybe her more than me.

Normally if Lily is sick, I stay clear to protect myself; I don’t want to get too close.  And it works most of the time. Sometimes however, as she is getting better, that’s when I’ll come down with it.

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Saturday we were both in bed, pretty much all day. We had extra blankets and layers of clothing on. I’m not sure what to call our sickness. There was a time way back, when I would offer a name for it.  Back then, if you were achy, coughing, hot and cold at the same time, we called that a cold. If you felt like you were going to throw up, it was the flu.

Now, it seems we call everything the flu. That’s not very descriptive, if you ask me. I remember when, if someone told you they had the flu, you got a mental image of them with a bucket close by.

Now, however, we are just plain confused when someone says, “I had the flu.” You ask, “What kind of flu? – the kind that you feel like throwing up, or the blowing-your-noise-and-have-a-temperature kind?” Come on, just give them two different names; one’s the flu and the other is a cold. Lily and I had the cold variety, got the picture?

As the day progressed, I started thinking that our kids should be here to look after us.  After all, we certainly did that for them for many years. Sadly, Karlie lives two time zones away and Mike, well, he’d stayed over at a friend’s the night before.

We were sick and on our own. So Lily had to make lunch for us. Now, just so you don’t get the idea I did nothing all day, I made my own dinner. It was a frozen pizza, but I had to go downstairs twice, the second time for the instructions. That used way too much energy for me that day!

All day I couldn’t shake this thought that our kids should be here for us. Karlie even phoned us while she was out shopping, wanting advice on choosing a soup stock to buy. It was like she was taunting us with visions of chicken vegetable soup. But there was no way she could beam it over to us.

I looked outside and it was snowing. There was no way we could shovel the snow, but Mike could do it . . . if he was home!

At that point, we both felt kind of sad and lonely, Lily more that me, ‘cause I had hockey to watch all afternoon and evening. Where were those kids when you needed them?

Here’s the thing: Just like our kids were not close by when we were both sick, if we have allowed or caused some distance in our relationship with God to exist, we certainly won’t feel like He is close by when we need Him. I need to make sure I stay close to God when I’m doing well, so that when I’m not, I know He is there to help.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kinds of things can cause distance in your relationship with God? Leave your comment below.