Sometimes I have to wonder "How Did I See God Everyday" as I think about the past week? How did God lead? How did He show me love? How much did I see His care and guidance? Nothing important seemed to have happened that made me realize that God was still there! This week was one of those weeks. It has been a week when I couldn’t help but feel forced to shed tears because of pain that is so hard to endure. I reached out to my medical staff to see if they could offer me some extra relief and their answer was not what I was hoping for but pretty much what I was expecting. They had no suggestions beyond what I was already doing! And also offered another solution that I was already doing and another solution that was impossible to do! I can’t take a walker or cane to bed with me to help with the middle of the night difficulties!
I read the story in Luke of a crippled woman this week. According to the Gospel, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on Sabbath, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. The Greek word for her condition is synkyptō, "bent forwards, stoop," then of a fixed bent-over position, "be bent over, bent double. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. Physicians today would call Ankylosing Spondylitis, or Marie-Strümpell Disease, a fusion of the spinal bones. It seemed to be a chronic progressive form of arthritis distinguished by inflammation and stiffness—and in some patients even ossification of joints—especially in the lower spine. Onset is usually in people aged 10 to 30 years, usually men, though 10% of patients are women. Treatment focuses on relieving back and joint pain and preventing or correcting spinal deformities. Even today, we don't have any medicines that can actually cure this condition. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her: "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Early in the course of the disease, sufferers often find that the pain is relieved somewhat when they lean forward. So, they often go through the day leaning slightly forward, and gradually their spine begins to fuse. The more they lean in order to relieve the pain, the greater the angle, until a patient might be bent almost double, as the lady in Luke's story.
This disease had been progressing for her for 18 years. What began with lower back pain had ended with a horrible, permanent deformity. She used to be able to straighten up with effort, but now she can't. This story got my attention this week! There are times when I can barely make myself stand up straight, knowing how bad it is going to hurt. I could really relate to her. I imagine the pain she was experiencing was great and she didn’t have Tylenol or Celebrex for even a little bit of relief. Satan caused us the pains we have because of sin.
I had to really think about something other than my pains! So, God led me to see and hear several small things and happenings that reminded me of Him! Such as—
I have recently seen several stories of animals in safari parks that interact with people in cars. Many get frightened of the animals that invade their space. Seeing those reactions makes me long for the day when we will have "Real little animals to play with!" as I remember the song I used when teaching kids about Heaven and the New Earth. This week, my son told me of what he saw in his backyard in the big city of Lincoln! As he looked up, he noticed a blue Parakeet flying with another group of blue birds—the Blue Jays! I am sure this little Parakeet was enjoying the freedom to go where he wanted to go and have fun with his new friends but in the long run, I am sure he would fare better with his original situation. Come winter, he will not survive unless he chooses new blue group of friends—Bluebirds, who might be able to show him the way to a warmer place to live. We long for freedom from pain and work and look for something that will improve our lives. Instead, we need to trust God that He has placed us where we need to be at this present time. The little parakeet would have been better off if he had stayed in his bird cage!
One day my husband watched our Marco kitty from an upstairs window! He is a very black long kitty—a black panther in the house kitty kinds. Marco was pretending he was invisible and laying as low as he could in the grass, creeping forward from time to time. He was definitely in stalking mode and the object he was stalking was a gray squirrel. The intent I am sure was to catch the squirrel though I am not sure he totally thought through that plan! What would he have done with the squirrel if he did accomplish his stalking goal? In the end the squirrel went up a tree way faster than Marco could ever have been able to. The squirrel escaped! The whole incident reminded me of when a zoo mountain lion stalked our 2-year-old son many years ago. We were so thankful that a tall fence was between the lion and our family as we were on the sidewalk viewing the animals. If there had been no fence, we would have had a tragedy! It further reminds me that Satan goes about as a roaring lion seeking those whom he can devour—that is, lead us astray from the safety of God's fold and care.
This week had a couple of news stories of animals being where they didn't belong. The first was of a water buffalo wandering about in Iowa. I don't know about you, but I think of water buffaloes in Africa and Asia—not in Iowa! And there was another story of an Ostrich also not where it belonged. Once again, I think of Africa where they live in the wild, not walking through Iowa yards. And then there was the story of 30 kitties found in a van on one of our very hot days. Each animal was in need of capture and kind care, and all stories had a happy ending. There was another story that did not have a happy ending. There have been 4 chickens living on our farm. But this week, one of the chickens came up missing and no one knows what could have happened to her. She simply disappeared. And another animal story this week! A beautiful red cardinal has a home near our house. He has come to get a drink of water from our bird bath on our very very humid hot days. Other times he sits on a branch where I can see and find him by locating his beautiful red color. He sits there and doesn't sing—just says chip, chip, chip, chip. I wonder if he is guarding a nearby family? I rarely watch TV ads for content and cannot tell you what they are for, but occasionally an ad has animals in it, and if you are like me, those are the ones that get a bit of my attention. And I am sure that most people also enjoy seeing animals doing funny things. I know this because there are many home videos of cute animals doing cute funny things and many are also on Facebook. It is a rare person that doesn't like or love any kind of animal! I feel so sorry for them. They are missing out on great joy. I can understand why Adam was attracted to the animals of creation! God created them in part for our enjoyment and to love and for our comfort.
These animal stories so much reminded me of how God sees each little bird and flower. He cares for the very least of them. How much more He cares for me and sees every tear of pain and fear. We can understand how much God considers our worth, if we consider how much we value our animals and that they are of great worth to us. We are quick to want them to stay well and go to great effort to keep them that way. We needed to medicate our Marco kitty this week. He hates medication of all kinds and makes it very hard for us to give him any kind of medication. But it is for his own good! God administers "medication" to us for our own good but often we don't like the process any more than our Marco likes his medicines. We fuss and fume and often rebel until we come to understand He only wants to save us from worse things. He wants to save us from our sins, the disease of sin.
This week we were treated to beautiful dark red hibiscus flowers. It was extra special for we did not think it would survive the past winter—but it did and has been a blessing to us, when the Japanese beetles allow the flowers to open up so beautifully. I can hardly wait to see what beauty awaits us in heaven—things that we can't begin to imagine here on this earth. I wonder what animals will become my favorites in Heaven?
This week was a great week to sit back and enjoy God's gifts to me!