I hurt

I just need to grumble and complain a bit. I have shingles and I hurt. The left side of my neck, chest, arm, jaw, shoulder, upper back..... It all hurts. I take the meds that the doc says relieves the pain, but those make me groggy. And I still hurt. This is just awful. I know others have had it worse, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

O God...... there must be a reason for this illness. There must be a lesson in it here somewhere. Let me learn that lesson soon and let's get on with living. God, o my God...... bring me health and wellness. And when I am whole again, help me to be more sympathetic to those who are suffering ill health. O God, heal me, I pray.
Nancy

Amazing

How has God amazed me? That's the question put to me tonight.

Learning of the ways that my life touches and intersects with other folks is probably the most significant way that God amazes me. Some are folks that I've only just met here at General Assembly for the first time, yet I meet them over and over. I stop to ask how they are doing and the next time, they check on me. Some are folks I've met only on facebook, but when we meet face to face, it seems that we've been friends for years. Some folks I don't know by name and may never see, but they are vital to my well-being. I'm talking about the cooks, the store clerks, the construction workers -- Folks who provide services and make the goods that I use every day. I don't mean to leave out family and friends whom I see and touch often, but those folks are a given. My husband, children, grandchildren enrich my life.

I Corinthians 12 talks about how we are all members of the body of Christ -- all different and all working together for the glory of God and the building up of the body. Amazing, isn't it? Our interconnectedness.

I wonder how God will work in my life tomorrow..... I wonder how God can use me.