Five-Minute-Friday ~ Touch

Like clockwork, each week I join Kate's Five-Minute-Friday link-up. The rules remain the same,  each week write for five minutes, using the prompt  Kate provides, no editing, no overthinking it, just write raw then link up to her blog. 

I like to visit other writer's blogs to read what they wrote, but only after I have written mine. I want to write my own thoughts without being distracted by others point of view or direction for the weekly word. What I love and find interesting is how there are so many different thoughts written each week on that one word.

First, I want to take some time to thank you all for the prayers. Yesterday's removal of the blood clots went spectacularly! He's not a fan of the compression socks though. This doctor was puzzled as to why they hadn't requested their use before now. Which is probably why we were where we were!

As I always like to say, "we wouldn't have met who we did, had the journey not have a bump in the road!"

The timer is set...

GO!

During my devotions earlier today, which by the way are a bit off kilter with hubby's schedule lately, some of my messages got overlooked, like this message from Jennifer Rothschild that showed up on my newsfeed. 

I've been following her for ten years now. Her Bible Study, Me, Myself, and Lies... a thought closet makeover back in 2009 was one of my first studies. In that study, she walked me through putting some of my most profound thoughts of myself where they belonged. 

When I clicked on it, the first thing I noticed was the date this podcast was from February 14, 2019. I don't remember seeing it back then, but for reasons only God knows, it showed up today!

The term "Sandpaper People" caught my interest though, so I clicked on it.

After listening to it, and knowing what our word was for this week, my thoughts just took off.

Sandpaper comes in many grades, sizes, and shapes. To touch them, some are coarse, able to grind at things while others are a fine grade, the finisher in a project. Its the last step before the final project receives its coat of paint or stain, kind of like it's armor. Sandpaper people can touch our lives in so many ways also, and in so many ranges from coarse to fine. I have had some around me at one time or another. Which is where my thoughts had so abruptly gone. But I wasn't the one being rubbed the wrong way!

I'm so embarrassed to admit this, but there was a time in my life where I was a sandpaper person!

Knowing I touched someone else's life in that manner, not only hurt them but God. I was ashamed of my behavior. Instead of pausing when I had been rubbed the wrong way, or a nerve had been touched, or even a quick tongue remark, I would rub back, lash out with my words. My sarcasm was not necessary, nor more than theirs. Call it a defense mechanism, or a touché, but for reasons I won't go into at this time, that was the armor I wore.

Until...

STOP!  

Completely forgot about the timer. I actually jumped!

...I had completely dedicated and surrendered my life to Him did I see the error of my ways. Though with what I thought were good intentions, my conflicts didn't begin or end with Him back then.

Starting with my thought closet and ending with my heart, I worked my butt off to be better than that sandpaper person. I want those who I touch in my life to remember me as someone who spread seeds of love and encouragement, faith and hope, and most of all the ability to share the words of our Father.

Can I Be Kind to Sandpaper People? [Episode 23]

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So, my answer to that question is a big YES!

Yes, I can and always will be nice to any sandpaper person because I know how it feels to be given a seed instead of a thorn.

If it makes God happy, it will surely make them happy!

See ya' next week...

Five-Minute-Friday ~ Next

Each week I join Kate's Five-Minute-Friday link-up. The rules remain the same,  each week write for five minutes, using the prompt  Kate provides, no editing, no overthinking it, just write raw then link up to her blog. I like to visit the other writer's blog to read what they wrote, but only after I have written mine. What I love and find interesting is how there are so many different thoughts written on one word.

The timer is set...

GO!

Oh, what next!

Seriously! 

What was supposed to be routine surgery, in and out the next day, has been anything but!

Next up, the interventional radiologist will be doing a procedure where they will vacuum out the clot refusing to dissolve. I found this AngioVac procedure that describes what he had told us. Of course, after reading up on it, I have a few more questions for him next week.

With God watching over us, all I can do is be thankful in prayer that with every what; next, there is a solution.

While waiting for hubby to be called back, I was reading about Norte Dame, and all the donations pouring in. Pictures of what it once looked like. Memories were shared of those who had visited, to those whose Parrish was deeply affected.

Along the sidebar were ads and additional websites that were linked to other sites with more information. One had caught my eye; it was for Good Friday...

As I read, it immediately had me flashing back to my years in Catholic School, and the "Stations of the Cross." The smell of the incense, the clanging of the chain, the puff of smoke that would come out of the chamber as it clanked against the chain, blessing each station...

Last night when I learned of the prompt for today's writing, what was next for Jesus was walking with the weight of the world as a cross, each station, depicting His next step..falling, getting back up, not once but three times. Being nailed to it, mocked and stabbed, then dying on the cross....all of a sudden, my worries of next week became a grain of sand in comparison.

My thoughts became His.

STOP!

When something like this happens, I can become obsessed with searching the internet until I find what my heart is trying to remember. 

Then I found them...

..the pictures that are similar to those embedded in my thoughts and are still in my heart. God just needed to remind me of them. And of why, so I would stop worrying, trust and believe that whatever happens next, will always be for His glory. 

His steps, became our next steps that day.

  1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death

  2nd Station: Jesus carries His cross

  3rd Station: Jesus falls the first time

  4th Station: Jesus meets his mother

  5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross

  6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

  7th Station: Jesus falls the second time

  8th Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

  9th Station: Jesus falls a third time

10th Station: Jesus clothes are taken away

11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross

12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross

13th Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross

14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ April

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out the hospital window... little did I know this would be my view longer than planned.

It did change the second time around.

Those mountains in the background are the same mountain I view every day, only closer.

I am thinking... it was supposed to be a routine surgery. In and out the next day. Only a hematoma (first described as a cyst) was found, causing them to go back in and clean it up.
So, I again wait for him to come back.

I am so thankful... he was able to go home hours later.

I am wearing... lounge pants, not my LulaRous, and a basic tee. For the last week, my dress was not as casual, I actually had to put together outfits each day, fix my hair, and appear as if all is right with the world.

I am creating... a routine of that of a caregiver. Something I am used to receiving, not being. It feels good to be able to do for him, what he has done for me.

I am watching... my all perennials blooming. I shared a few last month of the ones in my yard.
The bougainvillea along the driveway is so vibrant this year!

I am reading... the direction for wound care, about the therapy and exercises he is to begin doing, what cautions to watch for, and what to expect after a laminectomy.

I listened to... the voice in my head that something was not right!

After calling the care nurse, it was suggested I bring him back.
Besides being severely dehydrated from his bathroom visits every 10 minutes for the last 36 hours, they also found blood clots in his leg.

I am hoping... things improve over the next 24 hours. Blood clots were not supposed to be part of his recovery. 

I am learning... I am stronger than I think I am! An IVC filter was put in place to catch and reduce the clots. Once again I wait for him to come back.

In the 4H garden... there was an abundant of artichokes available.

From the hospital's kitchen... I loved their Taco Salad!

One of my favorite things... was all my prayer warriors. I couldn't have gotten through this without them.

Shared Quote...

Ephesians 2:8-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Five-Minute-Friday ~ Lack

Friday-Minute-Friday

Ready, set, GO!

Continuing from last week, the lack of information created a merry-go-round for us. At one point, I actually wanted to change rides! 

Can I at least get on the rollercoaster? 

Unlike the merry-go-round, that only goes around and around, while the horse takes you up and down. The rollercoaster can at least be exhilarating. As it takes you up, up, up as if your heading for the heavens, then, when you see that there is no more track, it takes down, twisting and turning as it goes up and down. It can also flip you upside down while in a spiral. Being scared, and happy, crying and laughing, are experienced at the same time.

What's the difference? The rollercoaster allows me to scream! That gut-wrenching, top of my lungs scream! 

Rarely is anyone screaming bloody murder while on the merry-go-round! 

Regrettably, I had to take hubby to the ER the following Saturday afternoon. He had been given antibiotics twice last week during the two surgeries to protect him from any infection that could develop. We thought maybe they had overridden the good stuff in our abdomen, which caused him to become dehydrated from the constant trips to the bathroom. Then overnight his leg began to bother him again. By 6:00 PM he was readmitted to the hospital with blood clots in the leg.

Since this was the same thing we had gone through at the beginning of when we lost his mom, it was like a déjà vu for me, creating yet another panic attack on my part. Whatever needed to be done, wasn't nor couldn't be done fast enough for me. The three doctors treating him had a difference of when to insert an IVC filter that would catch and reduce any clots that might break off and head for his lungs. 

There was no lack of faith on my part during this scary time; however, hubby was having a difficult time. He was worried about the outcome of this part of the journey, and rightfully so. Rarely has he got caught in such a storm; usually, it's me who had the complications and setbacks. Now the table was turned, and I was the one at the realm, reaching out for prayers, and assuring him that God has this under control. Even our prayer warriors were now on overtime. 

STOP!

How to stay focus on this weeks word, lack, with a gazillion thoughts running through my head as to where and when I could apply it, dwindling five days into five minutes was a challenge. 

I believe he might have met God this last week! He mentioned Him often. And not in a sarcastic way either. It created yet another step forward, allowing one of the many seeds planted to begin to grow. He showed no lack of faith, and in everything, he was grateful, praising Jesus, showing patience and understanding. 

As for me, I never lost my faith in God, or in my hubby.

Let's pray he is now on the mend. 

Five-Minute-Friday ~ Offer

It's time for FMF!

By now, you probably know that if you have been following me. The rules remain the same each week. Write for five minutes, using the prompt  Kate provides and link up to her blog, then visit other writes to read what they wrote.

Ready, GO!

As hubby reclines next to me, recovering from what was supposed to be a routine Laminectomy, I found my comfort in the word, while he finds his in a pain pill.

After a day of significant pain in his leg, and MRI was down which revealed a little piece of bone created a cyst causing pressure on the nerves to the right leg, causing his foot to droop as he took steps. The next day he was back in surgery so the doctor could clean it up.

The nurses were great, offering us assurance that this is normal. It happens, and with therapy, it will return to normal. Having a knee that is 30 degrees out of whack, doesn't help either. (It's getting replaced in June.) As of this morning, I see a significant improvement in his walking. Him, on the other hand, says it still feels numb and cramping. Keep walking!

Now we wait and see how long it takes for it to come back to life. If it doesn't, they will know what would be next.

I've learned to trust those who have the knowledge to perform their God-given talents, offering us their expertise, to resolve something we are going through. My job is to offer hubby all the help he needs to heal, not to learn what the doctors already know. I read what they give in their instruction packet, ask the questions of what to expect, and pay attention as they explain how to do wound care, help with the exercises he will need to be doing, and offer any assistance as needed along the journey.

I must say, being on the caregiving end of this, is new to me. However, he is quite a handsome patient, and so thankful...

STOP!

...it's a pleasure to take care of him.

Talk about some crazy times though!!!

We knew when these surgeries were scheduled there was going to be a lot on everyone's lap. We just took what was offered and knew we had to work with it. A convention. An award. A birthday celebration on the Midway. Even more birthdays this week, add in the fair, and other commitments, it's been a lot of juggling!

I took a break from my duties, after getting hubby all set up for a few hours, and spent the morning at the fair watching the FFA & 4H judging.

What a joy!

It also included a "God" moment.

The window button on my adult car, she turns eighteen in May, decided to stop working whenever it wanted. Our mechanic has already ordered the part, so it won't be a nuisance much longer. However, after stopping at the drive-thru at Walgreens for his pain medication, it decided not to go up. Great! So, yesterday I was going to use hubby's truck to get to the fairgrounds, only he had stuff in the back that I would have to remove. Not having the time for that job, I decided to just take mine. I hoped the few things I had in it would be safe. Well, when I climbed in as I was talking to God about it, I hit the button, and the window went up!

I know He is always happy with my many praises, even when it involves the littlest of needs. His hands are all over our lives!

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy the weekend...