How can this be good?

Since Saturday, I have fallen twice really hard. I fell in the kitchen when I tried to get a drink of water from the faucet. My knee buckled and I was down faster than I was up. When I landed, I was wedged between the cupboards and the scooter. I have a huge bruise on my upper arm and a knot on my head. It's terribly sore.

Then last night in the Walgreens parking lot, I fell as I put the scooter back into the van. I have no idea how I lost my balance, but down I went. I hit my forehead on the back of the van and now, I have a sore red spot on my forehead.

I'm not worried about the marks. I lost my vanity for that sort of thing years ago. But, this hurts.

God, o God to whom I pray for protection....... How can this be good? Watch over me and protect me.

Unanticipated joy

Today I went to church, as is my usual routine for Sunday mornings. I went with a heavy heart. There's no serious crisis in my life at present, but the little things are all building up and it makes life seem grim.

The scripture was Mark 1:40-45 -- the story of Jesus healing a leper. Rev. Jann talked about compassion and the need we all have to be touched. I didn't come in the best frame of mind this morning. I guess I needed that touch, too. I heard the sermon during first service, then I went to Sunday School. During the second service, the little kids were ringing the bells. Little Stephanie just doesn't get it that she's only supposed to ring at certain times and so she just jingles and jingles the whole time. She dances and she doesn't watch the director at all, but we all just love her. Well, when that part was over, she was supposed to sit with her Grandpa, and he struggled to get her to sit. She escaped and I opened my arms and caught her as she flew down the aisle. She wanted to sit on my lap on my scooter. That was so good for me. I needed to sit there and hug little Stephanie. We didn't listen to the sermon, but snuggled and admired her valentine candies. She whispered to me, "I like turch." (Translation - turch means church) Stephanie was Jesus to me this morning.

A few weeks back, a morning devotion asked me, "Who do you expect to meet when you go to church? How would it be different if you expected to meet Jesus?" I wonder how our churches would be changed if more of us went to meet Jesus.

Whining

This morning, I discovered why my feet hurt. Well, really just one foot, but that's beside the point. As I looked at my foot, I discovered that the skin has split open on the bottom of my toes where the toe meets the foot. Dang! It hurts like a sonavagun. So I got out the Neosporin and the band-aids and taped it up. Then I got out my heavy duty lotion and lathered up my feet. Glad I'm not planning a hike for today. The dry winter air usually just bothers my lips and hands. This is too much.

Why is it that the little aches and pains throw us off kilter? Things like paper cuts on fingers, a stubbed toe, a bruised knee, a hang nail all make life miserable for a while. Then all of a sudden, I notice that my toe doesn't hurt anymore or my finger doesn't hurt and I wonder when it healed. It almost seems easier to have big problems -- tho I don't want those either, but it seems easier to get some sympathy for a broken leg than it does for dry toes. Yet, the dry toes with the skin split open is painful.

Well, enough whining..... I need to get on with living. There are so many folks with problems worse than this. But, I wonder........