In the Details

I've been sick for 10 days. My husband has been sick for six of those days. My boys have been sick for six of those days. And my little girl has been sick for four of those days. Fevers and congestion and coughs and vomiting and aches and fatigue. It's all been here. Thankfully, I can see that we're all on the upswing and this horrible virus is passing. (I type this as I listen to my boys upstairs blasting down block structures with Nerf balls and calling it their version of Angry Birds. This is light years of improvement from where they were a handful of days ago.)

I received a message the other day from someone exclaiming she was "so happy to hear we were all feeling better!" I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew that wouldn't help my already queasy stomach. I thought about yelling at the computer screen but my throat was too sore. I considered pounding the delete key but my whole body hurt, even down to my fingertips. Instead, I let out a sigh, decided she meant well, and realized that whoever she had been talking to had no idea what was really happening in our family.

Being sick isn't fun and it's not easy. A combination of being tired, feeling lousy, and having unbalanced emotions never works in anybody's favor. But, in spite of feeling physically low for almost two weeks, I've been able to rest in my mind because I've seen God manage the details. The teeny tiny details that, at first glance don't seem like much, but, when taken in light of the whole are actually a really big deal.

I think my mom has cried more on behalf of my family than I have. Maybe it's because I don't have energy to cry. Or, maybe it's because her heart is so full of love for people she is hundreds of miles away from and can't help but she can offer lots and lots of prayers and rally the troops of extended family to ask Jesus to send strength and healing. That's a detail I'm grateful for.

I have a friend who decided that the well family members would probably still need to eat, and with her own initiative ordered pizzas for us. The good news? There was plenty of left-overs so she actually knocked two meals out with her simple gesture of kind thoughtfulness. That's a detail I'm grateful for.

I have a husband that did his best to help and serve me - until he was down for the count and sick, too. I have two very loud and very active boys that have been content to play endless rounds of board games and card games with each other. They've even gone so far as to avoid wrestling and playing indoor soccer so that the house stays semi-quiet for me to rest. And, remember those Christmas gifts I stockpiled and hid? This week has been the perfect time to introduce some of those new Lego's and paint-and-glue-model cars. These are details I'm grateful for.

There have been numerous phone calls, texts, and emails from concerned friends and family just taking time to check in. My response has been (pitifully) slow, but my heart has been encouraged by their thoughtfulness. That's a detail I'm thankful for.

And, what about the wonder of modern medicine? Antibiotics work wonders. Tylenol is a God-send. Vaporizers are helpful. Kleenex is, well, essential. We've gone through eight full boxes of Kleenex... no way could I have washed and dried a bazillion hankies back in the day before Kleenex was the norm. These are details I'm grateful for.

Over the past week and a half, I've been grateful when 5:30 pm rolls around and the sky begins to turn dark. That's my sign that I have made it through another day. God has heard my prayers - and God knew my prayers even in those times when I was too tired or too feverishly-delirious to actually pray the words. God met my every need and my family's every need. God granted me strength to care for my sick kids when my husband was too sick to help and when I thought I was too sick to do much myself.

God has been in every detail of everything that has transpired over the past 10 days. He was in the details before I got sick and he'll be in the details when I'm well again. And I'm thankful for that.