Whew!! What a week! I can't believe an entire week has passsed since I last "blogged." I thought about just waiting to blog tomorrow, but I work tomorrow and Tuesday, so my post tomorrow will be short.
I headed back to last Monday and worked Monday, Thursday, and Friday and I'm telling you, it kicked my butt!! I am so thankful for the women I work with! Without them, I'm not sure I could have survived three crazy days at the Wiz!! Different people at different times checked on me...."How are you feeling?" "Have you eaten?" "You doing okay?" and my favorite..from Jenn Fenner, "Do you want me to bring your water down to you?" That one brought tears to my eyes! I'm sure that sounds funny, but I had been pushing with my sweet patient for nearly two hours and my mouth was like cotton!! Kiss, kiss Jenn:)
Anyway, things went really well at work as far as eating and drinking. I managed to get in all of my meals, protein drinks, and food. Yay! I was really concerned about how all of that would go, but it all worked out really well. I would say my biggest challenge at this point is getting all of my dang vitamins and meds in. I am supposed to take a multivitamin three times a day and calcium citrate three times a day....so biggie other than the two cannot be taken within three hours of each other. Then there's the antacid (need this one to settle down those tummy juices!), my Synthroid (have to have that thanks to that thyroid cancer way back when:), Singular for asthma, Zyrtec for allergies, and my "happy pill." The other kicker is that I have to wait ten minutes in between each "pill" before I take the next one. I feel like I'm spending my days drinking protein shakes and taking meds/vitamins! I had my annual exam with my primary care doc this week and she was trying to put me on meds for my fibromyalgia....no more meds!....was basically my response.
So, yesterday, Davison had a football game and Austin had a soccer match. After the games, we went to the grocery and when we got home, I sat down on the couch and fell fast asleep....just like Snow White--ha! Did Snow White snore?? Anyway, I slept, and slept, and slept until my bladder was about to burst! FOUR HOURS later, I finally woke up. WOW! That felt good! A lot happens at our house in a four hour span and I slept right through it all.
Dennis and I had a day today...our tree in the front yard was hit pretty hard by the wind storm that came through a week or so ago. The guys came out to look at it for us today and, well, it wasn't good. We sat and watched as they pruned our tree down to pretty much nothing! I think we were sitting there thinking about the thirteen years of "growth" that tree (and our family!) has been through. Now it's just a 25 foot tree with, well basically no branches until you get to the tippy top. Funny the things that can make you nostalgic. I can tell you one thing, we were left with a pretty funny looking tree at the end of the day! However, they reassured us that it would be nice and full again within about two years.
As I write this, I am reminded of a story told by Jason Gray on his CD that I was listening to yesterday. Jason talks about how vines are pruned on vineyards. He speaks of a friend who visited a vineyard and was told that they go out in the spring and cut off the first fruit and throw it away. He explained that when you go out in the spring and cut off the first fruit, the fruit that grows back is hardier, bolder, and more flavorful, it's the good stuff. Jesus says this in the gospel of John:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. -John 15
Following this story about the vineyard, Jason sings the song,"Why You Brought Me Here." The lyrics go like this:
I know I’ll get an answer that I won’t understand
If I ask that Your intentions be made clear
I know Your plans are greater and in that greater plan
Lie the reasons why You brought me hereThis story would be different if it were only mine to write
There are secrets I would never volunteerBut secrets lose their power when they have no place to hideMaybe that is why You brought me here
Oh, I hope You know what You’re doing; You brought me here
It’s a mess of my own making, I fully realizeAnd the consequences shake my heart with fearBut if was happy with the way things were then I’d put up a fightGuess I’m grateful that You brought me here
Oh, all I see are the ruins but oh, as the smoke starts to clearHey, I trust You know what You’re doing, You brought me here
If it’s hard to raise a white flag then it’s harder to believeThat surrendering is worth the sacrificeCause the very thing I always feared would be the death of meWas a way to come alive
And it hurts to be so broken but it’s bearable somehowAs the grounds to prove I’m worthy disappearI always heard You love me and I think I know it nowIt’s the reason why You brought me hereOh, Love’s the reason why You brought me here.
If you get a chance to check out "Acoustic Storytime with Jason Gray," please do! He's amazing and I love his interpretation of this story about the vineyard and this scripture. Such a good reminder that everything that I have in my life that is not bearing fruit for Christ should be looked at closely and "pruned" away and that I am brought to these situations in my life because I am loved and being "shaped" and "pruned" to get to the good stuff that is in me....remember?? I was knit together in my mother's womb!!
I know that every step of this journey that I'm on holds a lesson for me and I am working very hard at paying attention to what those lessons are. I am sure I am missing some along the way, but my prayer is that I have my heart and mind open to those areas of my life that need pruning and then that I allow Him to prune away....even if I think the result looks a little funny some times.
Have a great week!
Peace,
K
No comments:
Post a Comment