I was sick throughout the night. Really, really sick. But, although it was some kind of stomach thing, it wasn't your typical run-to-the-bathroom type of fare. This was just incredible pain in the center of my abdomen. My gallbladder's gone, so it wasn't that. I do have an ulcer, and I know what that kind of pain is like, and it wasn't that. I can't even describe it. Just the doubled over, take-your-breath-away kind of pain. The closest thing I've ever experienced was the time I was given morphine in the hospital and ended up rolled up in a ball on the floor wishing I would die. All the while having my daughter, Bethany, watch helplessly from the corner of the room ... on her 21st birthday.
The same thing happens when I take Robitussin, but, again, not quite to that severity. Tried that twice and never again ...
This was both painful and weird at the same time. I spent about an hour in the tub around four a.m., but that really didn't provide much comfort. My husband wanted to take me to the ER, but I refused. Why go to the hospital and be doubly miserable, get jabbed and poked, and end up trying to figure out how to pay the deductible when all is said and done? Besides, WebMD didn't give me any reason to believe it was life-threatening. I guess if you don't hear from me after this, I may have had a lapse in judgment!
After being up all night, I finally drifted off to sleep on the couch around 8:30 this morning. I woke up around 11:30, still in pain, but it is manageable. At least for now. I'm not seeing a productive day ahead of me, however.
The Sabbath started off the same as most. We had some guest speakers from Light of Life ministry in our adult Sunday School class, providing information and encouragement for their adult mentoring program. Excellent program serving the needs of recovering addicts. As one of the participants spoke of her wonderful experience with her mentor, Debbie (one of our church members), my selfishness surfaced, and rather than wanting to mentor, I wanted to be mentored ... by Debbie! What a gift she is!! Have you ever benefitted from a mentor?
Our pew seemed anemic this week, as one of our daughters and her family were in Manheim, PA visiting my mom. The other daughter who worships with us was serving in the nursery and her husband was at work. So it was just Bill and I with our granddaughter, the lovely little Lady Laura.
After church, we did our usual trek out to lunch at one of favorite local restaurants. Then it was back to the house to show Laura her new sliding board; a hand-me-down gift from a neighbor. Then it was naptime, and I must confess, some time on the computer dealing with a couple of work-related issues. Yes, I know I've committed to not doing that on the Sabbath, but this was an exception.
You see, this past Tuesday, I got a message from a client I was in the middle of a large project with telling me to halt all production on the recordings. "We've decided to go in a different direction," he explained. Well, that may be a good choice for them, but it left me temporarily out of work. I still had another 85-90 hours worth of work to do on this project, and because of that, I hadn't been pursuing other projects. Not good for the budget, let me tell you. So, I had to check my email because I was waiting to hear from a client in Singapore who was interested in hiring me to edit his book. With the time zone change, I wanted to be quick to respond to any questions he may have. So that's what I did and it looks like it's going to pay off. He even agreed to pay me 50% up front, which I had to insist on.
I also listed a couple of things on Craig's List. I mean, after all, I just lost a pretty large chunk of income. So far, no bites on the the for sale stuff though. I probably overpriced it. Oh well.
The evening included what seemed to be a delicious dinner (that may have been the culprit of my subsequent misery) and a couple of rounds of Bananagrams with my husband. So, for the most part, it was a Christ-centered and restful day, which is my goal, after all. What about you? How did you spend your weekend? Was it packed full of work from dawn 'til dusk? Did you take any guilt-free time to simply be?
Sharing my Sabbath experience,
Hana
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