So today…
- My dad was a sleepy-head because he coughed all night long.
- He was nauseated because of the antibiotic he took for the coughing.
- He was also dehydrated because of the nausea, which was because of the antibiotic, which was because of the cough.
- I got all mixed up about the starting time of my ladies’ day and I got there an hour early on a morning when I really could have used a little sleep.
- I stopped on the way home to take a very short nap in the car and my husband phoned to “check on me” just as soon as I drifted off. Time all up!
- When I got back to my dad’s house, he had once again lost his breakfast and had despairingly gone back to bed.
- I tried to get him up to watch the Bama game with me, although what I really wanted to do was go to a hibernation hole somewhere. But just as I was hoisting him up, the doorbell rang and a stranger delivered the news that Dad’s little dog had been hit by a car.
- I told my dad to lie back down and do not get up. I got in the SUV with a big blanket to go down the meadow and find Tommy, bleeding and addled.
- It took about eight calls before I could find an open veterinary office.
- The veterinarian projected that the minimum cost for the surgery likely needed is two thousand dollars.
- I made the sad decision to have the puppy euthanized.
- I had the sad duty to tell my father about the puppy.
So today, I am thankful for:
- The steroid and antibiotic that gives me hope for a better night’s sleep tonight.
- Supper that has “stayed down” for almost three hours now.
- Mixups that make me early, rather than late.
- A chance to talk to women from Philippians 4 about how it’s not what’s happening on a particular day that determines my contentment. It’s about the promised peace that passes understanding. Do you think God provides what we need as His children?!… that His Word throughly furnishes us?! I needed to do that particular expository of the great chapter about rejoicing.
- A husband who checks on me.
- A sweet cousin who helps me with dad when I have to be gone for a couple of hours, even on days when he is sick.
- A great Bama victory to keep my dad preoccupied during the sad afternoon’s business.
- Neighbors who were kind enough to take care of Tommy and come and notify me.
- Understanding my father’s limited income and his sadness, a clinic that donated the euthanizing shot and the cremation.
- A husband who always helps with difficult decisions, and does it with logic and a level head.
- My dad who, even though he forgets a lot of things (like I do), has not forgotten the difference between human beings and his dog. He simply said. “Well, we did what we could.”
- A pillow on that bed in the back room and a monitor so I can hear my father if he calls. And the Word I can read as I fall asleep on that pillow…so I can hear my Father as He calls.
Some days you just think about Philippians 4 and the wonderful things Paul said about contentment from a dank and dark prison cell. And then the things about which you’re anxious seem small—negligible. And the peace that passes all understanding guards your heart and mind. It’s been a good day….And tomorrow? It’s the day when we go and get all that encouragement from the family of God. I hope my dad is well enough to go and get that…and worship the God of peace.
