Monday, July 03, 2006

Seven icky, sicky weeks

I've been sick for seven weeks now.

It's all kind of a blur for Garfield and me. You know when you just pull the ostrich stunt and think that if you stick your head in the sand, then no one will notice you, and life is not really going on around you? Well, call me an ostrich. I've been trying to just get by, not feeling competent enough to care for my own household, much less meet the very real needs of others around me. That bothers me.

In the Bible, the number seven is the number of completion, the number of perfection. I would consider it perfect if God chose to bring my sickness to completion about now.

But lest this turn into a mere whining post, I will give thanks for the manifold blessings I've seen through this time:

1. Being unable to perform some basic tasks has allowed our church body the opportunity to reach out to us, truly living out the love of Christ's people. One woman arranged for meals to be prepared for us, and we've had scrumptious meals given to us about twice a week, which is a tremendous blessing. I'm so thankful for the ladies and teenage girls who've given of their time to cook for us. That's been my biggest struggle: preparing food while nauseous.

2. Other family and friends have been most helpful, too, by visiting us, watching our children, cleaning up our home for us, and praying for us. It is humbling to feel completely incompetent and accept help. This is one more way for me to learn to not be self-reliant, but reliant on the Lord only through the various means He provides.

3. My amazing husband is an "in the trenches" kind of guy, taking on many of my responsiblities on top of his own very tiresome job. He sacrifices so that I can stay in bed longer in the morning and retire early in the evening. He's happy to do double-duty right now in return for me carrying his child.

4. As many people remind me, lots of "morning" sickness is a sign of a strong pregnancy, and can even be an indicator that you'll have a more healthy infant, due to all the toxins removed from my body. (Or at least that's what the doctor will tell you as some form of comfort.)

5. I'm sick for a good reason. I personally know two women who are currently battling cancer. I am blessed that my nausea/vomiting is due to a new baby, rather than chemotherapy. When I'm locked in the bathroom, I'm reminded to pray for their daily struggles.

6. This is completely silly, but I'm more likely to fit into my bridesmaid dress for one of my best friends in a few weeks. We ordered the dresses right before I found out I'm expecting, and it's going to be a feat squeezing me into the dress. If I was feeling great and gaining weight like crazy right now, I might have to miss out on being in that wedding.

7. I'll always be empathetic towards other women who go through this. I get the feeling that women who "weren't nauseous a day in their pregnancy" just can't quite understand what I'm going through. This gives me plenty of compassion towards those who are sick, and makes me look forward to feeling up to passing on all these wonderful blessings.


Of course, I want it to be over now, but whatever the case may be, I know one thing's for sure: I'm seven weeks closer to the end than I was when I started!

4 comments:

Kristen said...

Hope the end of the "tunnel" is coming soon...hang in there!

Cottle Clan Dobermans said...

Oh Sweetie! Having just gotten through this myself, I certainly sympathize. I have been been blessed with minimal sickness to what is considered extensive and I know how hard it is. I think after about 8 weeks I really started thinking I would never be able to eat or live normally again. I can say that I am much better now, although I still get waves. Hang in there, this too shall pass!

Anonymous said...

I know how you feel. I hope you feel better soon. I am thankful that you have the help of the church and friends/family there in San Antonio to help you. Love ya!

Anonymous said...

Okay, the last comment was from Sarah Meche just to make sure. :)