Ah! Blessed rest was so wonderful for a few hours until the world turned upside down.
Mom came running into my room at 1 AM screaming, “Ralph, Ralph, there is something wrong in the dads room.” Blasted awake from a dead sleep, I jumped out of bed and raced to his room. The sound of whirring, booming and pounding at extremely high decibels came from his room…sounding as if a mechanical monster was attacking my dad.
As we burst through the door, we could not believe our eyes as the hospital bed was pounding up and down, giving my dad the ride of his life.
It was almost like the poltergeist in the horror films were attacking our house. The bed was trying to chew my dad up and spit him out. How in the world was this happening?
I raced to the side the bed searching for the cause.
Immediately, I spied the culprit. Somehow his paralyzed leg had landed on top of the controls for the bed. All four buttons were being pushed by his calf all at the same time. The bed
definitely did not like this chain of commands and howled in protest.
Quickly, I removed the offending leg from the controls and silence returned instantly.
If it was not so late and being half awake this event might have been humorous…but it wasn’t. “What do I have to do to get some sleep around here,” I wondered. After a diaper change I went back to bed, exhausted. After providing care all of Sunday, since Janet was in Dallas visiting her family, I was bone tired.
Why is it so hard to go back to sleep when you wake up suddenly in the middle of the night?
As I finally drifted off to sleep a comforting thought emerged, “Scott was on duty at 8 AM and I could get some work done. Little did I know that all my efforts would again be required the next day.
As I woke up, little rested from the night before, because of the rude interruption in my deep sleep, I dragged myself out to the kitchen to brew some much needed “joe.”
Ah! The first cup of coffee of the day was always encouraging. “Ring, ring, ring…my cell phone leapt into life.”
“Hello Ralph?”
“Yes, this is Ralph.”
“This is Scott. I guess I never should have told your mom I rarely get sick. I have come down with a nasty summer cold. I don’t want to infect your dad.”
“Oh, that’s just great,” I thought.
“Yes, we cannot take the risk of infecting dad. Perhaps tomorrow you will be okay.”
As I hung up the phone a deep depression came over me.
How in the would was I ever going to get any work done to make a living. I would have to clean up my dad, feed him breakfast, with the help of mom, and then take both of them to the doctor. My day was done, dead, kaput, still born, gone, over…all the time spent taking care of my parents. Perhaps you have already been there or experiencing this awakening now?
Life can be so difficult sometimes when you are seeking after your own plans rather than God’s.
After a few moments of prayer, accepting the chain of events as His will for me for the day, I was done feeling sorry for myself. “How would I like to be paralyzed on one side or suffer from congestive heart failure?” I don’t think so. It was high time to thank God for all my blessings and get down to the business of serving my parents. Afer all, who was I kidding…as if they did not change my diapers a million times and feed me every 4 hours because I was 3 months premature. I am sure I was a real pain in the hinder regions.
Trusting in God with all your heart, leaning not on your own understanding and acknowledging Him is all your ways is not that easy.
Grumbling, moaning, dragging my feet and asking, “Why me God?” I am sure is not the type of activity He blesses. Sometimes, it is hard to lay your life down for others. My selfish wants are so pervasive at times, frustration run high.
Occasionally it is time for vitamin T, to help with the pain of the death of my own desires for wealth, material possessions and freedom.
“What,” you say, “you have never heard of Vitamin T?” Well, I guess everyone has their special vitamins that begin with different consonants (B for Bourbon or beer, W for wine or whiskey, V for vodka, R for rum, etc). A few shots of Vitamin T (tequila) can brighten the day or night.
But, this is a warning that alcohol can be addictive.
If you are not careful, your alcohol vitamin of choice can turn into your worst nightmare. Ask me. I know this from personal experience. After a while, if you don’t watch your alcohol intake, you won’t be able to face the trials and tribulations of every day with out this dangerous mood altering substance.
God said a little wine is good in times of sorrow and I fully agree.
Since I dislike wine, a little juice from the mescal plant can really mellow out the day. Of course I don’t get drunk, just relaxed enough to lay on the floor and channel surf for a while…dreaming of the time when I was a kid and actually had the opportunity to go surfing everyday.
If you are in the same situation a little ingesting of adult beverages is in order.
I am sure tomorrow will be a better day! At least with prayer, gratitude and a little Vitamin K, I can face anything that comes my way. (-:
To Be Continued…