Just Another Average Week - Worms and All

An ice storm, the dog had worms, the bathroom was redecorated, a funeral for a good friend, and a revelation from God forgotten since I was a child.  Just pretty much normal events in the course of an average week .  Nothing unusual simply doing life here on planet Earth.

The ice storm was a bit abnormal for Wisconsin.  Snowstorm yes, ice no, not like this.  I didn’t get  The temperature stayed around freezing but if it warmed up at all it just made the ice more slippery with a thin layer of water on it.  And then at night it would freeze again.  We put salt out and even some hay to try to get some traction.  When I carefully pulled the car into the driveway I went sideways for awhile and decided it was good enough, it was going to stay there.  Most of the schools in the area were closed for two days. We did not attempt to get our mail for two days because it was simply too dangerous to try to walk on the ice.

We noticed over the weekend that the dog had some white-rice-like worms on her fur.  Okay, I did freak out for a minute and couldn’t even recall what I went looking for in the medicine cabinet to get rid of these very unwelcome parasites.  What made me think I had something to take care of worms was beyond me.  I contacted my niece who works with animals and she told me they were likely tape worms and that they could come from eating rodents or bunnies, or from the fleas those animals carry.  Our dog does from time to time eat them and if she doesn’t get them for herself our cat, out of the goodness of her heart, will occasionally bring her a mouse.  The very good news was the worms were not harmful to people—unless we ingested them or their egg sacks.  Okay, we were clear.  I normally don’t do much housework on Sundays but I vacuumed like never before as I didn’t want this rice-looking worm to feel welcome, even for a minute.   A vet appointment on Monday confirmed what my niece had said and with a dose of medicine, we were good to go again.  I will tell you I’m not in a big hurry to eat rice at this point, however.

Meanwhile, I had gotten concerned that someone could see me through our bathroom window as the curtains we had did not cover the whole window.  I started out seeking different curtains that I could easily close to cover the window, especially at night.  Our closest neighbor on that side of the house is half a mile or more away, but I still felt uncomfortable at night and I would often throw a towel or my robe over the curtain rod.  I was not having much luck finding colors that matched the shower curtain.  One thing led to the next and the painting began.  We changed all but the countertop, toilet, tub and floor.  We painted the walls, the medicine cabinet,  the vanity, and all the accessories. We changed the curtain rod, shower curtain and, yes, I got new curtains that pull shut easily when needed.  The room is  brightened up during the day as now the window isn’t obstructed  and we are enjoying the great view as never before.  Aside from the mess in the house, as this is our main bathroom, it went pretty smoothly.  I even got a couple of items from my neighbor as she is now in assisted living and her family was having an estate sale.  I can remember my dear friend every time I enjoy my newly decorated room.

My husband, John, lost a close friend that week. “T” was like one of his stepsons.  He had some health problems and everyone agreed it was better that he went fast so as not to suffer longer.  It is always hard to say goodbye to someone you love and this was certainly true in T’s case.  Many, many nights they would be on the phone talking to each other, discussing various topics from politics to cooking tips.  It was icy and foggy the night of the funeral but we needed to be there. Sometimes in life you don’t get a second chance to do the right thing.

The revelation from God is so new to me at this point that I’m not fully ready to talk about it.  I may blog about it in a later post but for now I will simply say this, He is real.  He revealed something to me during my daily routine that I had forgotten since I was a child.  I don’t even have the words for it yet.   

This is life on planet Earth with the good, the bad and the ugly.  One thing remains true, God’s love is consistent.  He walks with us as we walk out our days.  I sought Him when walking on the ice, praying for Him to help me stay upright.  I prayed the rice-like worms would not harm my dog or my family and thanked Him for the medicine and the money to pay the vet bill.  I thanked God for my niece and her skills with animals and her speedy reply to my most urgent text.  Whether it was taking out screws or balancing tip-toe on the toilet seat to reach the corner of the ceiling, I prayed for God’s help.  In saying goodbye to T, I prayed for his family and friends and asked God to receive him into Heaven.  I prayed for safe travels to the funeral home and everyone’s safety going home.  All week long I asked Him to help me find numerous items and thanked Him for the skills and materials to redo the bathroom.  I asked Him to have the items I purchased to be on sale.  He helped me let go of some things I would normally have hung on to “just in case I would need them”.  He reminded me that my security is in Him not in things. 

So what’s this whole post about today?  It’s about relationship with God.  It is only the most important relationship of your entire life.  He created us to be in relationship with Him.  Without a relationship with Him we will never fulfill our true purpose.  What grieves the heart of God is when we try to live life independently of Him because He knows how much harder we make it for ourselves.  And quite frankly I think He longs for us.  My life before Jesus was hard.  Always striving for peace and rarely ever finding any.  Oh, I had my share of fun and laughs at times, but not joy, not real joy and contentment until I found Him.  So with the ice storm and all it brought, the dog’s unplanned vet visit, the redecorating, the funeral and the revelation, the most important thing that took place through this “average week” was the constant dialog with my Creator.  We are made to be in relationship with Him; anything else pales in comparison.