The flu rolled through our house, and Rob has been fighting it with everything he has for the last 2 days. I feel terrible for him. At least it hit me and I got it over with, but it's just sort of messing with him without deciding to go in for the kill or leave him alone.
Yesterday morning the water filter/dispenser in our refrigerator stopped putting out water, and our dishwasher stopped mid-cycle and has water in the bottom of it and is completely unresponsive. Just when I'd especially like to be sanitizing our dishes...
Our sump pump seems to be malfunctioning because the battery backup won't stop alarming.
This morning when I went to get Maddie up for the day, I found a pool of murky wet stuff under her head/face. Just as I began to put my plan of attack together as far as how to care for my baby who seemed to have caught the flu, I realized that the murky wet puddle was green... and there was an arc of about 2 feet of it (6 or so inches wide) stretching down towards her legs. I think it might have been the first time in the history of mankind that a mother CELEBRATED over the fact that her baby girl was literally rolling her face in her own poop! It means SHE DOESN'T HAVE THE FLU! She didn't vomit, she just blew out her diaper, and impressively. I have never been so happy to wipe poop off of my child's face, ear and hair. A new low, to be sure.
Maddie had blown out her diaper yesterday morning as well, and so I added to the growing pile of poopy laundry in the hallway with more sheets and destroyed pj's.
I put the kids down for a nap a little while ago, and started to attack our laundry situation. There are about 5 piles of laundry sorted and ready to be done in our laundry room. I brought the kids' laundry down and prioritized the poopy laundry. (By the way, there is not enough Oxyclean in the midwest to handle what is going on in our house right now.) As I pulled out the sheets, pj's, etc. and sprayed the you-know-what out of them with stain remover, I got to the bottom of the pile of dirty kids' clothes and was surprised to find a pair of Robbie's pj's that had poop on them. Hmm. Must've just been up against the other poopy stuff in the hamper. I lifted it out and the pj's were heavy. Wait a minute, that's not right. Inside the pj's was a pair of underwear that was filled with poop.
I cannot make this stuff up. I have no idea when this happened or how long it had been sitting in there, but because a girl can only deal with so much poop, I decided to throw away the whole ensemble. (*Sidenote: I do not care when this happened or whose watch it happened on! No confessions necessary. I simply thank you for the laugh it gave me today, and for the help I was being given whenever it did happen!)
Last night Rob and I attempted to go on a date. It was sort of a date-fail. My allergies decided to act up which is weird because no one else around here is having trouble with their allergies, most notably Rob who is like a human allergen barometer. (I made that up, could you tell? I think the Benadryl is making me loopy!?) My nose and eyes are itchy and swollen, and my face is producing an incredible amount of snot. It's so bad that when I sneeze (and that's a lot), my nose spontaneously empties itself. If we weren't married, I think Rob would have dumped me last night. Heck, I WOULD HAVE DUMPED ME!
The thing about it is this: I'm kind of at that desensitized point where nothing much is fazing me. Bring it on, get it over with, we'll survive. I'm not feeling especially squeamish, anxious, exhausted or annoyed anymore. I've wiped vomit, poop and snot, I've scrubbed dishes in hot water with my hands, I've gotten down on my knees to sanitize the floor, and I have not rested my head nearly enough given the week we've had.
I just wanted to take a minute to write this down, because all I want to do is PRAISE GOD! He is so good to us. He walks with us, and His promises are true. I know the things I'm talking about are small potatoes compared to what some of you are dealing with, but this is my family's story and it's the only one I have to tell. I will testify to the ways that God has displayed His glory and presence in our lives even when things comically fall apart.
There have been moments where I've been able to gather myself for a small amount of time and rest or recharge - like yesterday morning when I spontaneously decided to see if my salon had an opening so that I could get my hair highlighted. They did, in a 1/2 hour. I took the appointment and hurried out the door while Rob kept the kids, and what do you know? The director of women's ministries from our church was in the chair next to me getting her highlights refreshed as well, and we talked for a while. It was refreshing and encouraging, and she is someone I greatly admire and always feel loved by. I know that God orchestrated that just for me, and it strengthened me.
This morning I let a friend know that the kids and I were taking coffee and donuts to the park because Rob and I couldn't get our act together {in our current physical state} to make it to church, and would she like to join us? Yes, she would because she had already been to church last night. And this time when we sat on a bench while my kids played in the sunshine, I was the one who was able to listen to her pour her heart out and hopefully help carry her burden by listening to her struggle. God is so good to have gifted me this friendship years ago when He wove our stories together, and I'm thankful that I am finally healthy enough (in more ways than one) to be on the listening end of the conversation and to have the capacity to be in relationships that are two-way.
I know it's a matter of perspective, but my take on the situation is this:
God is working on me in a lot of ways, and the refining process is painful but wonderful. I'm thankful to finally feel like I'm making spiritual progress and finding more strength in the Lord and yet the invisible spiritual battle that rages all around each of us seems especially poignant right now to me. I know that it's because Satan fights to discourage and destroy each of us, and his attacks often come when our hearts are most in tune with the things of God, when we are focusing our energy and efforts to becoming more like Him. Satan hates that.
So instead of giving in to frustration or discouragement or fear, I'm trying to keep my eyes on the Lord who loves me and is not only FOR me, but working in me all the time to make me more like Himself if I'll yield myself to Him. It's a relief to walk with Him through challenging days instead of feeling all alone. And it's an awesome blessing to know that He has already claimed victory in the spiritual battle that Satan wages over those who call God their Father. We just have to endure and keep fighting, but we know what the ending will be.
I am so blessed, and no amount of poop or vomit or tears could keep me from seeing that truth and rejoicing in it.
2 comments:
You have certainly had quite a week! And I am so encouraged by your attitude! Amazing!!
Amen.
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