Sickness
Today I was hit with an unnamed type of African flu. Went to bed last night feeling something nasty was coming on, then woke this morning with my head spinning…pounding…eyes rolling around in their sockets. That sort of thing.
At one point, I remember stumbling into the bathroom, drinking some water, and immediately feeling nauseous. Quickly, I opened the bathroom door and staggered out, feeling very faint. The room started spinning and my ears buzzed with an almost deafening sound. I could make out the outline of some of my friends I live with, asking me if I was OK.
Someone grabbed my hand as I began to sink to my knees. The kids came running up the stairs to see what was going on. Everyone immediately began to pray for my healing. I managed to make it back to my bed and lay down as my fever rose and fell and rose and fell. It was very strange, experiencing cold sweats all day.
Finally, we managed to find a spare malaria test kit. You have to prick your finger to get enough blood onto the tester. After getting over the initial fear of having to jab myself, my finger simply would not bleed! It took four pricks before the blood actually started flowing strongly enough to fill the tube. After a couple of painful minutes waiting for the results, it came out negative—thank God!
I drifted in and out of sleep, unable to eat anything all day. I tried to keep down a lot of liquids while everyone continued praying for me. The flu ended up lasting another two days, during which time I was able to do a lot of thinking.
Mostly I was frustrating at being so helpless. At not being able to work, meet my deadlines, attend the movie shoot I’d been cast for. But it was during this time of brooding that I began to realized that maybe Someone was wanting me to get my priorities straightened out. Everything has been so busy lately and I thrive on the work I do—Moving from one meeting to the next, this appointment to that, the current volunteer project to the upcoming ones…
Then, all of a sudden, I am smacked down—an invalid in a sick bed for days.
I knew that God was trying to get a hold on me, telling me to slow down, but I’d been putting it off, thinking His Work was more important than just spending quality time with Him in my heart. Well, this sickness left me with no excuse. I was finally able to stop, look, listen. Spend time with the One who I’m living for in the first place.
Hopefully the lesson will stick this time.