Seems like God is really choosing to test our family at the moment, I do rejoice in this as the bible tells us that he gives us trials to make us stronger! But that doesn't mean we don't need to pray, or ask others to pray for us.
Physically, I continue to struggle, nausea is big problem, as is some generalised pain, when I couldn't move, I was stuck with my neck in a funny position, I'm aware from have struggled with a neck injury in the past that there is a certain spot where nausea is a symptom, so I don't know whether the nausea is related to that, or if it's still a drug related problem. I'm also struggling with sleep, it's taking me a long time to fall asleep each night, the first two nights I was home in the middle of the night after not falling asleep, I switched my alarm clock off, but yesterday I was convicted that regardless of how badly I slept, I still needed to get up to spend time with God and that the alarm would stay set, regardless. When it woke me, I hit snooze, thinking I was turning it off, I'm praising God for the snooze button as 8 minutes later when it went off again, I saw my error and made sure that I took my time this morning to abide with Him.
Yesterday afternoon, my MIL fell on the stairs carrying a laundry basket and broke her wrist, she actually seems remarkably well and genuinely seems to be in very little pain, at first they thought she'd need surgery, but the doctor in the ER then was pleased with how he'd managed to set it and the hand surgeon confirmed today that the set was good and she doesn't need surgery, though they'll check again next week.
This is a logistical problem for us as I felt I wasn't up to driving so she was supposed to be helping out with that, I ended up deciding I'd better try driving last night when there wasn't traffic and determined that I was safe, even though it makes me feel bad. It also means that I need to do all the cooking, rather than sharing it, cooking dinner last night was a classic example of how I've been feeling in general since this all happened, that multi tasking is very difficult for me! We managed to get dinner, though not any vegetables, which we can deal with! It's hard for us to get take out or buy prepared stuff as I am wheat free and my MIL doesn't do cheese or citrus and other things that are slipping my mind right now.
It also makes things a little tricky with childcare, just simple things like me not carrying the baby up and down the stairs whilst I've been feeling a bit wobbly, I now have to do, so please pray for safety. I also have a couple of appointments where she was supposed to be watching the baby, which could be difficult, she's ok playing with a 4 year old by the looks of things.
My husband also got a new job on Thursday, it's a sideways move in the same company, good for his long term career, but more of a difficulty than a celebration temporarily as they want him in the new team straight away, but he still has to tie up ends from the old team, so he's got extra work to do.
Our car is displaying the maintenance required warning light, it could be as simple as saying it's due for service, but we'll have to take it to the dealership so they can plug it into the computer and tell us what it is, which is a job my husband will have to do, as there is no way I can drive either that far, or on the freeway to get there.
Another thing that doesn't effect us directly is the deaths of two members of our old church in the UK, one an elderly lady, who's husband had already passed on, we are able to rejoice in, though we are saddened that we won't be able to pay our respects at the funeral on Friday. The other was one of the elders, he was diagnosed with a chronic and rare form of leukemia in the summer, but the prognosis seemed to be good and they had found a match for a bone marrow transplant, but he got pneumonia and died last night, I'm finding this much harder emotionally, we'd prayed for him, but I regret not taking the time to send him a word of encouragement. He leaves a wife and 5 sons, aged 20-30, we'll be sure not to forget to send a message of condolence. Again, it's hard being so far from where we call home and not being there to mourn with others. A positive I can take from this is that after being here 3 years, I've finally got to the point where I feel the same connection within our church here and would be devastated if one of the leadership were to pass on.
I wrote up a note on facebook with details about what happened on Wednesday, I'm Anne Rogers, with a picture of me in a red latin dance dress if you want to friend me.
Thank you, Anne