The Glass is Half Full (Rainbows in the Clouds)

(The following is my much belated TWIRP for the weeks of October 1-14. Enjoy...)

These first weeks of October have been two of the most difficult weeks for Danielle and I since we have been married. I say that, not to overstate our situation, but to testify to the fact that God has allowed us to have relatively smooth sailing in our first two years as a family. Let me briefly summarize our storm...

On Tuesday, October 3, I came home from work, and Danielle informed me that her lower back was quite sore. She took some Ibuprofen, and we retired to bed later in the evening hoping that some rest would ease her pain. By 11:45 that night, we were calling some friends to come over and stay with Eldan while we took a trip to the emergency room. Danielle's pain was bringing her to tears, and I wanted to discover and eradicate its source as soon as possible. After several tense and painful hours in the ER, we learned that Danielle was the not-so-proud owner of a 3.5 mm kidney stone from her right kidney. We were told that she would probably lose the stone within a couple of days. If she didn't we were instructed to contact a urologist for further help. In the meantime, the doctor said, all we could do was keep her doped up on pain medicine until the problem passed--literally.

That's when things really started to go amiss. Pain meds are a wonderful concept, but their usefulness is contingent upon this--the person taking them needs to keep them in their system long enough for them to take effect. Danille was so sick in her stomach for two days that the meds did her little or no good at all. When she failed to pass the stone within the allotted 48 hour period, I tried to contact the urologist as instructed. Unfortunately, there is only one urologist in town, and apparently kidney stones are about as common as the common cold. The secretary told us that Dr. Lewis was booked for weeks. The situation was looking grim. 6 days after her initial hospital visit, I took Danielle to the urologist office (even though the urologist was not present at the time), and was told by his nurse that Danielle's stone was "obstructed." (Sounds uncomfortable and painful just to read it, doesn't it?) The nurse told us, "The only way that puppy is comin' out of there is for us to go in and blast it out!" Well, that was the general drift of her comment at least. The problem at that point was finding a time when Dr. Lewis could do the blasting. He was going to be out of town for 4 days, and the OR was booked solid until he left. It appeared at the time that Danielle would have to endure another week of kidney misery. In addition to all that, our family doctor was fairly sure that Danielle had a kidney infection; he told her to stop nursing Eldan because it was making her too weak; Eldan had a wicked diaper rash, a sinus infection, and was not sleeping very well; and I...I was handling all of this with dignity, grace, and maturity while still fulfilling my responsibilities at school. (And if you believe that, I have a three-legged ballerina I would like you to meet!)

Lest any of my faithful readers (either of them) think that I am complaining, let me tell you that the whole point of this TWIRP is not to enumerate all of the bad things that have happened, but rather to list several of the positive lessons and experiences we encountered along the way. I think of them as "rainbows in the clouds" of our little storm. Here are just a few:

1) The nurse who cared for Danielle at the ER was very compassionate and helpful.
2) Eldan adjusted rather quickly to being bottle fed, and I gained a better appreciation for the term "bonding" as I held the little guy in my arms and fed him. I never quite realized before how precious that time can be.
3) Nearly a dozen different people from our church and family helped us in some way during our time of need. These individuals assisted us with everything from meals to babysitting Eldan when I went to school to teach. Some even gave us money!
4) Dr. Lewis went the "extra mile" in trying to get Danielle into the OR before he left town. He was even calling other urologists in Columbus to see if one of them could do the procedure sooner than he.
5) Danielle had the kidney stone removed 5 days before we thought she would because of the kindness of an anesthesiologist we had never even met. She worked it out to get Danielle scheduled in the OR at 7:30am on Wednesday, October 11. The procedure lasted only 25 minutes, and Danielle was home resting comfortably by 11 that same morning!
6) My mom flew in last week to help with Eldan and to get us back to "normal"--whatever that is.
7) I learned a new lesson about the goodness of God. God's goodness is alot like the proverbial glass that contains 50% water. Is it half-full or half-empty? It's all in how you look at it. Your perspective is the key. I found this to be true about God's goodness. At times, it is as plain as the nose on your face. There are times, however, when it can be more difficult to see. Our cups aren't always running over. Yet, His goodness remains true nonetheless. To be honest, I felt my cup draining rapidly during this semi-serious ordeal. It took some simple reminders from the Spirit of God through the Word of God to remind me that my glass was half-full. Maybe not as full as at other times, but it certainly wasn't empty. In the midst of my discouragement and frustrations (like almost driving into a tornado zone while returning from the airport with Mom!), I could still rejoice in God's goodness--as long as my perspective was right. Bad things do happen to good people (good in the sense that they have been justified by God in Jesus Christ, that is!), but we can rest assured that our Great God can turn them into good things in His way and His time!

So, things are pretty much back to normal by now. Eldan has cut his first two teeth and is weighing in at a whopping 17lbs 10 oz! Danielle has regained most of her strength and is enjoying her visit with my Mom. (As am I.) I am getting back on schedule at school and am eagerly anticipating the start of my rookie year as head coach of the Junior High Basketball team. Danielle and I are blessed, and we realize this more with every week that passes. It's getting colder around here. I'm hoping that a big winter is forthcoming. God is good, and the weekend awaits...well, in 3 days it does...